FILE PHOTO: Ana Patricia Non refills the Maginhawa Community Pantry on Thursday, April 15, 2021, which she set up to help people who are badly affected by the pandemic and have difficulty finding food to serve on their tables. The pantry accepts donations like canned goods, vegetables, vitamins, and face masks, among others, from kindhearted individuals as those are essential for sustenance and survival. The pantry is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — Maginhawa community pantry pioneer Ana Patricia Non on Monday expressed her dismay on the nomination of Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla as the next justice secretary.
Presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has picked Remulla for the post, as he tries to complete his incoming administration’s Cabinet.
Non recalled Remulla questioning the intentions of community pantries and its volunteers – claiming the initiative had an underlying political agenda and was being used to criticize the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: Community pantry: ‘Not charity, but mutual aid’
“Very uncomfortable na si Rep. Boying Remulla na ang DOJ Sec,” she wrote on Facebook. “[Hindi] ko malilimutan ‘yung mga accusation niya sa Community Pantry PH noong nakaraang taon sa Congress. Ang sama sa loob na akusahan tayong mga pantry organizer na nagpapasikat dahil may posts tayo. [Hindi] man lang inisip na ito ‘yung nag-iinform sa public kung saan may existing pantries para madaling puntahan ng mga nangangailangan at donors.”
(It’s very uncomfortable knowing Rep. Boying Remulla may be the next Department of Justice secretary. I won’t forget his accusations against Community Pantry PH in the congress this past year. It was displeasing to have pantry organizers accused of publicizing the initiative when our posts were only made to inform the public about the locations of existing pantries, so both beneficiaries and donors know where to go.)
READ: Remulla, Brosas butt heads over community pantries’ publicity on social media
Non said that community pantries started as a “movement” to help people amid the COVID-19 crisis yet unfounded accusations were thrown against the initiative by Remulla.
“[Hindi] ko alam kung anong justice system ang magkakaroon tayo,” she added.
On Monday, Remulla confirmed he accepted the offer to be the secretary of the Department of Justice under the Marcos administration.
READ: Cavite Rep. Boying Remulla set to be justice secretary under Marcos Cabinet
Despite his “outspoken” nature, he vowed to be “more reserved” upon assuming his role in the Cabinet.
“It will be a hard habit to break…We will have to tone down a little on that and just convert it to action na lang,” Remulla said in an interview with CNN Philippines on Tuesday.