Vegetables as security threat

It has been a welcome breath of fresh air in this crisis: people contributing what they can in vegetables and other food items, and others taking just what they need, in a community pantry.

Unfortunately, just as the initiative, replicated in many parts of the country, was being lauded for showcasing the “bayanihan” spirit among Filipinos, the original community pantry organizer announced yesterday that her project would be suspended.

The reason: Ann Patricia Non, who initiated the first community pantry along Maginhawa Street in Quezon City, posted on social media yesterday that she feared for her safety after three policemen arrived and asked for her contact number and the organization with which she might be affiliated. Along Matatag Street also in Quezon City, barangay officials reportedly ordered a stop to the operations of another community pantry.