FILE Gabriella party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas and Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla
MANILA, Philippines — Community pantries shouldn’t be publicized in social media to avoid being politicized, Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla, a point branded as an “insult” by a fellow lawmaker.
During a House briefing on Wednesday, Remulla said that helping those in need should be done “wholeheartedly” without having the need to announce their action, adding that this contradicts the true spirit of “bayanihan.”
“Ang pag-publicize sa pagtulong sa tao ay hindi magandang gawain kasi nagkakaroon na ng agenda na kakaiba sa totoong spirit ng bayanihan,” Remulla said without naming anyone by way of example.
(Publicizing the act of helping people is not a good thing, because it gives birth to an agenda that is different from the true spirit of Bayanihan.)
“Kapag nagkaroon ng political agenda ang pagtulong sa tao, kapag nagkaroon ng pasikat, kailangan ipinapaalam sa lahat na tayo po’y gumagawa ng kabutihan, ay parang di na tayo gumawa ng kabutihan.”
(Once there is already a political agenda, and when it’s already about showing off, it is no longer a good deed.)
Remulla also added that people should stop using the pantry initiative to criticize the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Tigilan na lang natin ang pagsisi sa gobyerno, sabihin na lang natin kung ano pa ang kinakailangang gawin” he said.
(Let us stop blaming the government, let’s just tell them what needs to be done),
But Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas opposed Remulla’s position, explaining that making an issue of publicizing the initiative is an “insult” to pantry organizers.
She explained that publicizing community pantries on social media is vital in order for the public to know where they will be located — hence, publicizing should be promoted rather than discouraged.
“‘Yung usapin ng pag-publicize na huwag i-publicize ng mga organizers ‘yung kanilang effort, in my opinion, insulto po sa mga organizers ‘yun eh kasi ‘yung mga organizers, gusto nila na makatulong at mapalawak ‘yung nalalaman ng ating mamamayan kung saan sila pupunta,” said Brosas.
(The issue of whether organizers should publicize their effort or not, in my opinion, is an insult to the organizers, because all they want to do is help and let people know where they should go.)
Meanwhile, Agusan Del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun pointed out that in the case of Ana Patricia Non — the main target of alleged red-tagging and accusations linking her to the communist movement — the popularity Maginhawa Pantry achieved was “organic.”
After Non pioneered the Maginhawa community pantry in Quezon City, similar initiatives sprouted everywhere from Metro Manila to almost every other region of the country, and even abroad.
Several critics of the government, however, pointed out that the initiative is a sign of the government’s slow response and insufficient aid coming from the national government.
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