The creator of the Maginhawa community pantry announced on Facebook that they will be taking a break for now over issues on their security and red-tagging claims.
Ana Patricia Non, which began the initiative last week, appealed to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte for help. She said that three police officers have asked for her contact number and to which organization she belonged.
“Natatakot po ako maglakad mag-isa papunta sa community pantry ng alas-5 ng umaga dahil po sa walang basehang paratang sa amin. Gusto ko lang po talaga makatulong at sana po ay huwag nyo masamain,” she said in a Facebook post.
“Malungkot po dahil hindi muna maipapamahagi ang goods na inihanda namin buong maghapon dahil po sa #RedTagging na nagaganap,” she added.
‘Red-tagging’ insinuates that a person, group, or initiative is critical and/or not supportive of the actions of the current government administration.
Non said that community pantries have encountered problems with the police since Monday.
“Mabigat sa pakirandam ko kasi maganda po ang intentions ko noong binuo ko ang #CommunityPantry at ilang araw na din po na napakaraming pinagsisilbihan nito at ganun din po ang tulong na dumadating,” she said.
Many residents are dismayed over the closure of the pantry which has been a big help to their community. Netizens have also called out the alleged profiling of the organizers of the community pantry project.
