Palace to task force: Leave community pantries alone. Inquirer Newsletter April 21, 2021

No images? Click here   CAUTIOUS PAUSE   Two women sit idly by at the spot of the original community pantry on Maginhawa Street in Quezon City after small business owner Ana Patricia Non, who ignited the food aid movement, announced a “pause” on Monday night as a safety precaution for volunteers following police profiling of people involved and anticommunist propaganda painting it as insurgent idea.  -Photo by Marianne Bermudez, Screenshot of NTF-ELCAC’s shared content posted by Ana Patricia Non     News FDA greenlight 2 more vaccines The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed the emergency use of the single-shot COVID-­­19 vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Bharat Biotech. Presidential adviser Joey Concepcion said the private sector was expecting 8 million Covaxin doses to start arriving in May, and that companies interested in the brand may join a Zoom meeting on April 27. —STORY BY REUTERS, ROY STEPHEN C. CANIVEL AND LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   News 130K flee ‘Bising’ in Bicol; 2 dead LEGAZPI CITY—Floods and landslides caused by rains dumped by Typhoon “Bising” forced the evacuation of 137,000 people mainly in the Bicol region. At least two people in Camarines Sur were reported dead on Tuesday. Bising is expected to remain within the Philippine area of responsibility until Sunday. Damage to agriculture was initially estimated at about P46 million, affecting nearly 800 farmers. —STORY BY INQUIRER STAFF Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Newsletter / Join us Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletter and get your latest news and important updates on COVID-19. Subscribe     Shop now   Banner Story Palace to task force: Leave community pantries alone​ By Leila B. Salaverria and Nikka G. Valenzuela Malacañang on Tuesday said the government’s anticommunist task force should leave the community pantries alone after the agency linked the citizens’ movement to the insurgency, forcing the young woman who started it to temporarily shut down her aid station for the safety of volunteer workers. President Duterte backs these citizens’ initiatives to provide food aid to the needy who are struggling to survive the pandemic which had crippled the economy, according to his spokesperson Harry Roque. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said he had not ordered the Philippine National Police to look into the community pantries around the country as they were expressions of the “bayanihan” spirit. Ana Patricia Non, a 26-year-old small business owner, announced on Monday night a “pause” in food distribution at the aid station that she personally put up, the now popular Maginhawa Community Pantry, named after the Quezon City street where it stands. “It’s sad because we cannot for the meantime distribute the goods that we had prepared the whole day because of the Red-tagging that is happening,” she said on Facebook. Various activist and human rights groups have said that Red-tagging had resulted in violent and fatal attacks on individuals and groups that had been labeled as communist fronts or supporters. Non said that several police officers had asked for her telephone number and later wanted to know her organizational affiliations, leading her to suspect that they were profiling her. She said the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) posted an allegation from a group called Peace Philippines that “Tulong Kabataan,” which had set up its own pantry, was a communist-linked organization. Propaganda, recruitment The NTF-Elcac also shared a post from another group called Basika, which claimed that communist insurgents were using the pantries for antigovernment propaganda and to recruit members. “I think the President has spoken through my office, the [Department of Interior and Local Government] has spoken. And unless their concern is about health protocols not being observed, they should let these community pantries alone,” Roque said in a press briefing. Pressed on whether the Palace would ask the NTF-Elcac to stop linking organizers of the people’s pantries to communist rebels, he said that was up to the task force. “The DILG secretary has spoken, and I as presidential spokesperson have spoken, that there should be no barrier to bayanihan efforts of our countrymen,” he said. Roque said that if NTF-Elcac members continued linking the community pantry organizers to communist insurgents, that would be considered part of their participation in the “free marketplace of ideas.” But, he added: “I think whatever they (task force members) say, as long as the people benefit from it, people will still believe in community pantries,” he said. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday said individuals setting up community pantries “have no legal duty” to provide their personal information to authorities. “A person voluntarily doing an act of kindness and compassion toward his neighbor should be left alone,” Guevarra said. “It is not proper for law enforcement agents to interrogate [them] unless there is reason to believe that [they are] violating any law,” he said. Police FB post Non said she was alarmed that even the official Facebook page of the Quezon City Police District shared a post alleging that community pantries were supported by communist organizations. Other individuals who have set up pantries in other cities reported that they also were asked by police to fill out a form that asked for their personal information and family background. “My goal is to reach out and help … [but] when people are discredited, when they are Red-tagged, the whole community is discredited,” said Non. She said that they would resume food distribution on Wednesday once they are assured of their volunteers’ safety. “My advice for people who are unsure about the intention of the community pantry, or who are afraid of underlying motives, the best solution—I’m not going to explain myself and I do not need to explain our intention—I would ask you to drop by at the community pantry so you will hear the stories, to see the line, to talk to people. Because this is how we will learn—from the people,” she said. She said the community pantry initiative had no political affiliation and that individuals from various social classes, communities and even religious backgrounds had either volunteered, donated goods or started a pantry in their own localities. Community pantries have sprouted all around the country and go by the original Maginhawa slogan of “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan” (Give whatever you can, take only what you need). “We’re not asking the government or the people that we share political beliefs or ideas. What we’re asking for is unity. Let’s not kill this initiative because [the effort] has helped many people put food on their tables,” Non said. Belmonte assurance Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said she would ensure that the operation of community pantries in her city and their volunteers would “remain safe and unimpeded.” The People’s Law Enforcement Board of Quezon City, which checks erring policemen, said it would look into the alleged Red-baiting. The Quezon City police apologized for its Facebook post, adding that it “does not and will never allow alleged Red-tagging.” City police chief Brig. Gen. Antonio Yarra said the police “do not discredit any groups [and] instead we encourage the bayanihan spirit.” PNP chief Debold Sinas said he has not ordered “any form of profiling of organizers of community pantries.” Año on Tuesday said no permits were required to set up community pantries, correcting Undersecretary Martin Diño’s earlier statement that these were necessary. “As long as the intention is good and without political color, it should be encouraged and supported. Since this is a purely voluntary and private initiative, we should not interfere except to ensure that minimum health standards are complied with,” Año said. The Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) also said community pantries do not need any permit from the government because they were not considered businesses. “If all [acts of kindness] needed permit, we would have a more difficult time during this pandemic,” Arta Director General Jeremiah Belgica told reporters. —WITH REPORTS FROM JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, MARLON RAMOS AND ROY STEPHEN C. CANIVEL Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Editorial Time to ‘pulverize sword of Damocles’ There’s a festering issue in the Supreme Court, which is in a state of unprecedented flux. It has to address the matter now or ever be under threat, according to Inquirer columnist and former chief justice Artemio V. Panganiban, whose imagery in his column of April 18 is provocative and searingly apt: 'Now is the time for the Court to pulverize the self-inflicted sword of Damocles it dangled over the heads of its members: a sword that the Solicitor General [Jose Calida], the lawyer of the Executive Branch, can wield anytime they ‘misbehaved’...' The sword was effectively wielded in May 2018, when the tribunal voted 8-6 to grant the quo warranto petition to remove then Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. It’s 'a horrible sword that villains—by simply asking the SolGen to unsheathe it—can terrify [the justices] and embarrass them publicly with, or at least, clog further the Court’s already congested dockets,' Panganiban wrote. He said that with the tribunal’s 'new composition'—seven of the eight justices who voted to oust Sereno having retired—the time to act is now Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net Get here     Copyright © 2020 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 2353, Makati Central Post Office, 1263 Makati City, Philippines.   Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  Preferences  |  Unsubscribe