Esperon says possible links of pantry organizers to CPP will be looked into

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. on Wednesday said they will look into the possible affiliations of community pantry organizers to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

During the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, Esperon, however, said they support community pantries but pointed out that “nothing is conclusive yet” regarding possible links of organizers to communist insurgents.

“We'll also look into the organizers especially if they advertised their organizations that would be traced to be front organizations of the CPP-NPA,” he said, referring to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army.

“We would also like to look into possible participation of personalities that may have other agenda, that may turn these projects into some for political and agitation purposes,” Esperon, a retired military general, added.

On Monday, Anna Patricia Non, organizer of the Maginhawa Community Pantry, said they would temporarily halt their operations for the safety of its volunteers amid the alleged red-tagging by government security forces.

Organizers of similar initiatives also reported they were being asked for their personal information by government authorities.

PNP chief Police General Debold Sinas on Tuesday denied the alleged police profiling of organizers of community pantries, which sprouted recently amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There is no order from the National Headquarters to conduct any form of profiling of organizers of community pantries,” he said. “It is beyond the interest of the PNP to delve into purely voluntary personal activities of private citizens."

However, government anti-insurgency task force spokesperson Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. admitted that they are checking the background of the organizers. He said community pantries are being "exploited" by several groups to undermine the government. —KBK, GMA News