Community pantries

Cagayan de Oro police put up pantries with assigned recipients

Jairo Bolledo

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Cagayan de Oro police put up pantries with assigned recipients

POLICE PANTRY. PNP launches 'Barangayanihan,' their version of the community pantry, which has sprouted all over the country.

Photo by PNP Cagayan de Oro

The 'planted beneficiaries' are obligated to take photos with the goods and post it in their personal social media accounts for documentation of the PNP

In a memorandum issued by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Cagayan de Oro and shared by alternative news organization Pinoy Weekly, local police units were tasked to put up their own pantries then designate beneficiaries who would post it on social media.

Lieutenant Colonel Joel Nacua, the Cagayan de Oro City police spokesperson, confirmed to Rappler that there was a memorandum. He said they followed the exact guidelines stated in the document. 

According to the memo, the police would handpick beneficiaries of the relief supplies. The beneficiaries were then tasked to take photos with the goods and post it in their respective Facebook accounts. 

“Respective beneficiaries will take pictures of the activity and post in their respective FB accounts. These netizens can be planted beneficiary civilians so as to manifest community’s appreciation,” the memorandum stated. 

Nacua said that the photos were for documentation purposes. “‘Yung pagpopost sa (Those posting on) social media, for documentation ‘yun. Lahat kasi ng activities natin, (All our activities are) documented,” he said.

In a phone conversation, PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Ronaldo Olay told Rappler that the photos were indeed to document the activities. 

He said the initiative would be implemented nationwide. 

The PNP dubbed its version of community pantries as Barangayanihan. In their variation of the well-loved, free food distribution program, police precincts will serve ‘breakfast lugaw’ to preselected beneficiaries in barangays.

The police drew inspiration from Ana Patricia Non who pioneered the Maginhawa Community Pantry initiative, which has since inspired similar efforts all over the country. 

However, the concept of preselecting recipients is a departure from the original “community pantry” ideal of feeding as many as possible needy Filipinos, forced into hunger by the pandemic quarantines.

Two-part project

PNP’s Barangayanihan has two parts. 

The first roll out was implemented by the Manila Police District from April 21 to 25. According to the memo, local police units in areas hit by Typhoon Bising will also replicate the project. 

After the distribution, beneficiaries are obliged to take photos of the event and required to use the hashtags: #barangayinahan #WeFightAsOne #InspiredByMaginhawaCommunityPantry #LugawIsEssential.

The second roll out is dated April 26 to May 2, where the barangayanihan would be implemented nationwide. The same protocols would be enforced: handpicking recipients, and mandating social media posts with the mandatory hashtags.

In a statement, labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno slammed the guidelines of the police and called it a “desperate move.”

Desperadong hakbang ito gamit ang buwis ng mamamayan… Idiretso nyo na ang pera sa mamamayan sa pamamagitan ng P100 daily wage subsidy at P10,000 ayuda (This is a desperate move to use the taxes of the people. You should direct the money to the people through P100 daily wage subsidy and P10,000 cash aid.),” KMU Secretary General Jerome Adonis said.

In a tweet, former Bayan Muna representative Teddy Casiño called the initiative of the police a way to “hijack” the community pantries. 

Community pantry fiasco

Before being adapted by the police, the pantries were red-tagged by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and some police units.

NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade confirmed that they ordered the profiling of the organizers and even likened one of the organizers to Satan. Parlade has since received a gag order from NTF-ELCAC Vice Chairman Hermogenes Esperon to desist from commenting about the pantries. 

Cagayan de Oro police put up pantries with assigned recipients

After the fiasco, the PNP said it had ordered an investigation into the red-tagging. 

The PNP spokesperson said top cop General Debold Sinas had ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the police regional offices to probe the red-tagging in their respective units. – Rappler.com

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Jairo Bolledo

Jairo Bolledo is a multimedia reporter at Rappler covering justice, police, and crime.