LGUs must help prevent spread of COVID-19 in community pantries, says DOH

Local authorities should provide guidance to those using community pantries to prevent further COVID-19 transmission, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday as it welcomed the initiative.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire called on local governments to ensure order in community pantries, many of which have been set up in public areas to provide free food and other essentials to those who are struggling amid the pandemic. 

“Kailangan lang po siguro ma-guide ng local governments natin kung paano ang proseso para po hindi rin nagkukumpol-kumpol ang mga tao, hindi rin po nagkakaroon nitong mga pagdampot lang ng pagkain na hindi na natin nakikita kung gaano ang kaligtasan for health,” Vergeire said in an online briefing.

(Our local governments should guide them to avoid overcrowding and to protect the health of those who take food from pantries.)

“Malaking tulong din po ito both sa physical at saka sa mental wellness ng ating mga kababayan. ‘Yun pong nakikita nilang may handang tumulong ay malaking bagay po 'yan para sa kumpiyansa,” she added.

(This is a big help to both physical and mental wellness of our countrymen. To see that there are people ready to help can boost their confidence.)

Many Filipinos have taken the initiative to set up a community pantry in their hometowns after a similar project along Maginhawa Street in Quezon City went viral. 

Some lawmakers said the rising popularity of community pantries should serve as a wake up call for the government, whose pandemic response has come under renewed criticism amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. 

For Malacañang, however, community pantries only show “the best” of Filipinos during “the worst of times” and are not a condemnation against the government.  — Julia Mari Ornedo/RSJ, GMA News