Community pantry organizers must apply for a permit from local authorities, according to a DILG official.
Community pantry organizers nationwide must apply for a permit from local authorities, according to a Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) official on Tuesday.
DILG undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño said that organizers of community pantries nationwide must apply for a permit from the local authorities in order to ensure that health protocols such as physical distancing would be enforced.
“I think now they need a permit from the mayor or the barangay. Nung time na may disaster wala pa tayong pandemic, COVID at pwede pumila at magpalitan ng mukha ang ating beneficiaries. Ngayon meron tayong protocol na sinusunod, social distancing. Kaya lahat ng nagdodonate ngayon kino-course through natin sa proper authority,” he told ANC’s Headstart.
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When asked about the red-tagging of community pantry organizers, Diño said that local authorities might be concerned with the violation of health protocols such as physical distancing. According to Diño, the barangay chairman can face charges if there’s a mass gathering in the area.
The Maginhawa community pantry in Quezon City had temporarily stopped its operations following the red-baiting posts shared by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).
Ana Patricia Non, the organizer of the Maginhawa community pantry in Quezon City, said that three policemen have asked for her contact number and to which organization she belonged.
According to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, she had asked the QCPD to investigate and to submit a report on the said matter.
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