COPS COMMUNITY PANTRY. Personnel of the PNP Crime Laboratory Office (RCLO-7) give out rice, sardines, noodles, milk and coffee to the needy in their own version of "Tabang Community Pantry" at the Fuente Osmeña Circle in Cebu City's downtown area on Friday (April 23, 2021). RCLO-7 head Lt. Col. David Alexander Patriana said with the help of some kind-hearted Cebuanos, they hope to sustain the project. (Screengrab from Decemay Padilla's Facebook video)
CEBU CITY – Police personnel in Central Visayas have joined the initiative to help the needy by opening their own community pantry near the Fuente Osmeña Circle in this capital city’s uptown area.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Crime Laboratory Office-7 (RCLO-7) on Friday distributed rice, noodles, sardines, milk, and coffee to the residents through its “Tabang Community Pantry” at the old Fuente Osmeña police station.
RCLO-7 head Lt. Col. David Alexander Patriana told the media the project was hatched in response to the call of their national headquarters to help the Cebuano community, especially those who are affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“This is actually (an expression of) the spirit of bayanihan,” Pariana said, adding he was encouraged to set up a community pantry with the help from his “brother Masons”.
With the help of some kind-hearted Cebuanos, Pariana said he hopes the community pantry they organized could last for long, saying there are already individuals who have communicated their willingness to help the initiative.
The personnel of the PNP crime laboratory installed a tarpaulin with a contact number of their coordinator who could accept donations for the project.
More community pantries
A resident organized another community pantry on A. Osmeña Street in Gun-ob village in Lapu-Lapu City.
The organizer who funded the pantry himself underscored the negative effect of the pandemic to the lives of his neighbors as a reason for establishing a goods-giving project.
The first-ever pantry established in Cebu in Barangay Guadalupe has planned to expand its project to cover some parts of Cebu.
The organizer, “One Guadalupe”, said it will partner with SugboCares (Calamities Response and Emergency Support) in establishing a Cebu-wide community pantry.
Mayor Edgardo Labella said community pantries have recently popped up in other areas like in Tisa, Sto. Niño, and Pasil.
Labella also noticed there are also some pantries in the towns of Minglanilla and Consolacion, as well as in southern Cebu.
He said the city has also organized the “City Hall pantry right at your doorstep” where vegetables, fruits, and goods from Carbon Public Market vendors will be distributed to houses of those who are in need.
On Friday, the City Hall pantry visited the pier area and distributed goods to the poor residents. (PNA)
