Written by MAA
Art by Shinkiro
Whether the phrase “Everything is political” is a fact or opinion, it is never necessary for politicians to take advantage of it.
For more than a year under a pandemic, the Philippines have already hit a million of positive COVID cases and are continuously rising with more than 5,000 additional cases per day. Due to the government’s inefficiency of distributing aid, it sparked the bayanihan spirit of Filipinos to take action instead and help their fellows in their own simple ways. Thus, the emergence of community pantries.
Community Pantries aim to provide aid for Filipinos who are having difficulties in making their ends meet with the tagline “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan.” It all started last April 14, 2021 with “Maginhawa Community Pantry” initiated by the 26-year-old Ana Patricia Non in one of the streets in Quezon City. Now with 28 active pantries all over the country, numerous trapos ride this act of bayanihan with their dirty political agendas.
The establishment of community pantries is out of human compassion to ease the burden of fellow Filipinos, not for political agendas yet politicians still find their way to get involved despite it being brought up by the private sector.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary, Jonathan Malaya, said in an interview with INQUIRER.net, “We have always been consistent in our call that community pantries must be independent of politics, whether it is right-wing politics, central politics, or left-wing politics because we have noticed that the community pantries were also used as propaganda by some people to push for a certain political agenda.” He also stated that there are politicians who visit pantries trying to give some legal advice and allegedly protect the rights of the organizers yet Malaya said that these are “very subtle” tactics and a “clear propaganda”; as the said politicians always run for public office every election.
As Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte also said on The Mangahas Interviews, “We [politicians] are not supposed to hostage their project. I do not like that to happen. I don't think politicians should put their name in a project that they did not start. We are here to support this very laudable project, at this point.” She also added that when politicians intervene, the beauty and pure intention of the community pantries will lose its meaning.
This act of bayanihan is one of the many things that the Filipino citizens have resorted to as people in power continuously serve their citizens insufficient and inefficient responses to this pandemic. Sociologist and professor at the University of the Philippines, Athena Charanne Presto, stated “Community pantries can be seen as acts of resistance against three things: first, against a government that fails to adequately address citizens’ needs; second, against a biased and discriminatory view of the poor as selfish and greedy; and third, against aid initiatives from institutions that are difficult to trust.”
Filipinos then tried to take action for their part: a volunteerism that provided tangible aid for Filipinos and at the same time, goes beyond the unseen. Community pantries act as a symbol of hope. It seemingly says that despite the struggles we are facing, we are not alone. People willingly offer a helping hand that provides light and spreads positivity, therefore, politicizing community pantries, which are originally a platform of “bayanihan” and hope, is a depiction of total disrespect for Filipino people, especially those who are barely surviving.
In times of distress where people are struggling to get by, there are selfless people with pure souls; trying to share a piece of them despite their own lack. This should serve as an example for the people in power— that service of the people must always come first.
The COVID pandemic, recession, high unemployment rate, and poverty are all political issues. But whether the phrase “Everything is political" is a fact or an opinion, it doesn’t give politicians access to use bayanihan for their own advantage; especially in this time of crisis where Filipinos' lives must be prioritized rather than reputation and fame.
