2 NTF-ELCAC execs blame media for 'sensationalizing' community pantry issue, deny red-tagging

Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr., one of the spokespersons of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), on Wednesday insisted that the task force did not red tag organizers of community pantries.

Facing lawmakers, Parlade said the NTF-ELCAC only wants to protect the public from groups that are using community pantries for their own agenda.

According to him, the task force received reports that citizens were asked to sign a paper in exchange for food while they lined up in the pantries. Allegedly, there were also some propaganda materials being distributed, Parlade added.

"Many netizens reaching out to us, they're asking why there are propaganda materials in these community pantries," Parlade told a House Committee on Human Rights briefing about community pantries.

"We just want to clarify that we want our people to be careful, that they shouldn't just sign anything, and of course, we made it very very clear that Patricia Non's purpose may be good but we should be watchful," he said.

"We don't red tag them, we're just warning people."

Ana Patricia Non's community pantry on Maginhawa Street in Quezon City started a trend that spread across the country. She briefly stopped her operations after she was linked to the communist movement as she feared for her and her volunteers' safety.

Aside from this, there were also reports on alleged profiling being done by the Philippine National Police against other pantry organizers. This was already denied by the PNP leadership.

Parlade said the issue was just sensationalized by members of the media.

"They sensationalized the issue. They used terms like profiling, they used terms like red-tagging on and on," he said.

Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat Undersecretary Severo Catura, also one of the task force's spokespersons, echoed Parlade's statement. He also blamed the media for allegedly blowing the issue about community pantries out of proportion. 

"'Yun pong pag-identify sa mga taong behind the community pantry were not done by the government but by the people who were questioning bakit po kami nakapila dito at pinapapirma na ang kapalit ay pagkain," Catura said.

(Those who are saying that they were being asked to sign something in exchange for food were not from the government but from those people in line themselves.)

"Sumabog po ang issue na ito sa [This issue exploded in the] media. It was not the government who started it," he added.

Meanwhile, Agusan del Norte Representative Lawrence Fortun reminded the NTF-ELCAC to be cautious in making statements as their remarks had forced other pantries to halt operations.

"We should be very, very careful in our messaging na hindi natin sasagasaan ang lahat. Ang nangyari kasi parang naratsada doon sa initial messaging," Fortun said.

"'Yung overreaction instead of encourage resulted in discouragement pa na pumasok sa ganito," he added. --KBK, GMA News