Pandacan Community Pantry Halts Operations Due To Red-Tagging Fears
PANDACAN COMMUNITY PANTRY – Following visits from police, organizers of Pandacan’s community pantry decided to halt operations.
Recently, community pantries have become a nationwide initiative aimed at helping those in need. However, many organizers have echoed concerns of red-tagging due to constant police visits, asking for personal information.
For some areas, police even ask for the “Facebook Name” of organizers along with a 2×2 photo. Because of this, organizers such as Marikit Arellano of Pandacan, Manila decided to shut down operations due to fears of red-tagging.
In a Facebook post, Pandacan said:
“Napagdesisyonan na po namin itigil ang CP sa aming area Pandacan dahil nababahala po ang aking pamilya na baka ma-red tag po kami“
Furthermore, Arellano said that they were not obliged to provide the police with their personal information. But, because they didn’t want any trouble, they simply followed suit and filled-out a form containing personal details.
“Nangyari po ito bago pa maglabas ng statement si Mayor Isko Moreno na pwede mag tayo ng CP, hindi ko po alam paano ito ipapaalam o maka abot sa kanya na may nangyaring gantong insidente sa area namin, nangangamba po kami sa aming seguridad sa nangyari”
Meanwhile, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno himself stated that organizers could resume operations any time and can even visit him at the city hall. Additionally, the mayor said that he had ordered the Manila Police District “not to disturb anybody doing good deeds”.
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