Ana Patricia Non, the founder of Maginhawa Community Pantry, responded to those who criticized her community pantry.
“Ngayon ang pinakakailangan ng tulong, so I hope community pantries will serve as a wake-up call sa ating lahat. Maraming pumipila araw-araw, maraming nangangailangan. Hindi lang siya basta numbers, kuwento ito ng bawat pamilya na hirap,” said Non.
According to Ana Patricia Non, the government should still support the cooperation of Filipinos in times of crisis.
“Ang tingin ko po, maganda talaga na makita ng tao sa government ang efforts ng community pantry organizers at ang natutulungan niya… focus lang tayo sa pagtulong,” Ana Patricia Non said.
In his public address on Wednesday night, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he was in favor of keeping local government units (LGUs) closed to community pantries.
But the chief executive also criticized the alleged frequent non-compliance with health protocol in the queues.
“‘Pag maglinya lang sila not so much, then sabihin lang, ‘you’re next.’ Ganoon sana ang… Eh walang isip ‘yong mga g***** ‘yan eh. What they just do is just to show to the people that they care but they do not really care because of their ignorance,” said Duterte.
Ana Patricia Non answers criticisms on her community pantry
Government critics have previously asserted that community pantries reflect the government’s inability to address the worsening hunger situation in the country now with a pandemic.
The arrival of donations at Maginhawa Community Pantry is non-stop, which has now become a drop-off point for donations.
From the Maginhawa pantry, donations are distributed to other pantries in 15 barangays in Diliman, Quezon City.
The operation of the pantries is also uniform from 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon.
“Masaya. Hindi kami nahihirapan kasi ang mga tao sumusunod naman sa amin,” said Bella Sueno, organizer of a community pantry.
“May pila na dito 4 a.m. Start kami 7:30. 10 a.m. tapos na kami sa pamimigay… mahirap pero masarap sa pakiramdam na makapagbigay,” anothe organizer Arlene Belbis said.
In community pantries, a permit is not required and there is also no fee that can be charged by the organizers or the covering barangays.
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