House leader wants CHR, NBI to probe red tagging of community pantries

Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Tuesday called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to look into the red tagging allegedly being done against organizers of community pantries.

"Unfortunately, many community pantries were forced to close because their owners/organizers became afraid of being red-tagged after being approached by police and asked for their personal information,” Rodriguez said in a press statement.

"There is a need to look into the red-tagging activities and put a stop to it if it results in good ideas like community pantries being forced to close down," he added.

Rodriguez's call for an NBI and CHR investigation is contained in his House Resolution 1725. He said that in Cagayan De Oro City, some community pantries ceased operations after being red tagged and profiled by individuals who introduced themselves as police officers.

The Maguinhawa Community Pantry, the first pantry that popped out amid the COVID-19 pandemic, had to stop its operations for a day last week after its organizer, Anna Patricia Non, was linked to communist movement by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Quezon City Police District.

The pantry initiative has spread across the nation to help those in need amid the health crisis. As the initiative was replicated, reports also came out that police officers had been profiling organizers of these other pantries.

Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año has ordered police and local government officials not to interfere with community pantries organized by private individuals. He said their role is only to ensure that the minimum health standards are being observed.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have denounced the NTF-ELCAC's comments on the community pantries while the National Privacy Commission also condemned the “unjust” profiling of community pantry organizers.

Some senators and congressmen wanted to look into how the NTF-ELCAC has been spending its budget, which amounts to billions. They have been urging to realign this to provide more cash aid to those in need amid the pandemic.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., on the other hand, imposed a gag order on NTF-ELCAC spokespersons Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. and Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy to keep them from making comments about community pantry initiatives.  —KBK, GMA News