Community pantry in Cagayan de Oro shuts down after organizer gets 'red-tagged'

A community pantry in Cagayan de Oro stopped its operations on Wednesday after its organizer reportedly received accusations that he had links to communist groups.

On Facebook, the Kauswagan Community Pantry on Pasil-Bonbon Road announced that it would close indefinitely only two days after it opened its services for hungry residents.

"Unfortunately, due to some red-tagging and harassment incidents, we are closing our pantry indefinitely. The remaining funds will be reallocated to other Community Pantry initiatives," read the post.

The UP College of Science called on the university administration to support faculty member Rene Principe, who started the community pantry in Cagayan de Oro.

"Red-tagging is malicious, extremely dangerous, and runs counter to the spirit of bayanihan, which the community pantry exemplifies," the college said in a statement on Facebook page.

"We call on the UP administration to extend their support to Rene and protect University constituents amidst the challenges of the pandemic. We call on all peace-loving Filipinos to reject these baseless accusations and continue to give what they can in order to help those who are in need," the UP College of Science added.

The Kauswagan Community Pantry was inspired by the Maginhawa Community Pantry, which for one day stopped its operations also due to reports of profiling and red-tagging by police.

The Quezon City pantry reopened on Wednesday. --NB, GMA News