Community pantry organizer Ana Patricia Non bared she continued to get harassed and receive threats online ahead of the one-month celebration of the bayanihan movement.
The Maginhawa Community Pantry will turn a month old on Friday, May 14.
The organizer, also known as Patreng Non, shared these in two separate Facebook posts this week.
Still being threatened, harassed
In her post on Tuesday, Non narrated how she cried on Monday after being overwhelmed and exhausted by the recent events, citing interviews, an appointment and a meeting with a city councilor she failed to meet.
“Kahapon naka-missed ako ng 3 interviews, isang appointment sa donor (na nag-cancel na din ako last week dahil sa red tagging) at isang meeting with city councilor for resolution. Di ako nakapunta sa pantry at di ko talaga sila naharap. Truth is umiyak ako kahapon sa pagod, overwhelmed ako,” Non said.
“Kasabay nitong schedule na ito ay kausap ko yung pantry organizer na prinofile ng mga pulis sinusubukan ko din hanapan sya ng safe place. Kausap ko ang mayor at barangay. Kasabay nito iniisip ko yung death threat at rape threats sa akin kaninang umaga,” she added.
Non also revealed that there are people ordering food from food delivery service Foodpanda using her number. She also shared that she still fears for her safety especially when going out.
“Iniisip ko din paano ba finally kontakin si food panda kasi gabi gabi may umoorder pa din under my number. Di ako makalabas kahapon kasi wala naman akong sasakyan ay lalo na wala naman akong security. Hindi ko alam kung worth it ba lumabas para sa photo ops pero kapalit yung safety ko,” she said.
Similarly, in a previous post on May 9, Non shared that she received a call from another community pantry organizer who told her that some police went to their pantry, profiled them and left.
The police also did not give them any reason why they were running background checks on them.
“May mga pulis daw sa kanilang pantry. Pinapasagutan sa kanya ang form, tinatanong sya kung paano nakakalikom ng donations, ano yung kanyang organization, saan siya nakatira, saan siya nagtratrabaho,” she said.
“Maski alam nya na karapatan niya na hindi iyon sagutin, nag-fill up na siya. Gusto nya lang matapos ang pangungulit ng pulis kasi mahaba na ang pila at nag-iintay na yung mga lola na makakuha ng goods,” she added.
Thankful yet exhausted
In her recent post, Non also expressed how thankful she is that her humble food project grew and inspired similar initiative in other communities.
Some pantries were adapted to provide other needs such as free breakfast, seedlings, hygiene kits and food for stray pets.
However, the growth also came in with more responsibilities that Non’s relatives and friends even pitched in provide assistance.
They eventually decided to develop a community pantry process and answer queries on Facebook page Community Pantry PH. Non encouraged the public to visit this page for any of their inquiries.
For her “well-being,” Non said that she will only focus on working with the community pantry and will not entertain other interviews and photo ops this week.
“Wag po kayo mag-alala kailangan ko lang po ng pahinga, kumpletong tulog, kain, privacy at security. Kitakits po tayo sa 1st Monthsary Check In ng Community Pantry PH sa Friday, May 14! Yakap sa lahat!” Non said.
“Reminder lang din na simpleng mamamayan lang po ako. Minsan jologs minsan jejemon. Di politician. At lalong di artista. Focus na lang po tayo sa mga pumipila sa pantry sila naman po ang mahalaga dito. #MulaSaMasaTungoSaMasa,” she added.
