Lining up for community pantries is not an excuse to violate curfew hours being implemented in the so-called NCR Plus area which is under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.
The Palace official issued the statement after several people were issued tickets for lining up early to get donated food in a community pantry in Quezon City.
“Falling in line to a pantry won’t exempt anyone from the curfew,” Roque said in a press briefing.
“The curfew is uniform in the National Capital Region and the nearby provinces. Waiting in line in pantries is not a reason to be exempted from the curfew,” he added.
He said local and barangay officials will continue to issue tickets and impose a fine on those who would go out of their residences during curfew hours just to line up early in community pantries.
Roque also called on community pantry organizers to coordinate their efforts with barangay and local officials as he appealed to the public to observe health protocols to stop the spread of the virus.
For her part, Mayor Joy Belmonte said the Quezon City government will not hesitate to close down community pantries that will cause a COVID-19 outbreak.
“If, after we released the guidelines (on Friday), after the reminders, we still are unable to enforce the rules and regulations of the city and of the IATF, then we will not be an effective government. We still have to do our job and that is to enforce the rules and regulation of our city and of the national government,” she said.
Last week, a 67-year-old male vendor collapsed and died after lining up for hours in a pantry organized by actress Angel Locsin in Barangay Holy Spirit.
“I want to make it clear that first, we were not lacking in reminding the public that we will enforce the rules. Second, pantry organizers already know these rules,” Belmonte added.
Meanwhile, the Maginhawa community pantry, which inspired the setting up of other community pantries across the country, said its current location will be turned into a drop off center for donations, with the goods to be delivered to barangays in the Diliman area to avoid long queues and overcrowding.
“Starting April 27, our pantry at 108 Maginhawa St. will become a donation drop off center. We will deliver our goods in barangays in Diliman where our recipients usually come from,” the pantry’s official Facebook page said in a post.
“Under the decentralized pantry system, we will be more organized and efficient with our distribution with the help of barangays and other existing community pantries,” it added.