THE Quezon City Government has urged its residents who went to the community pantry established by actress Angel Locsin to have themselves tested for the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The RT-PCR test for Sars-CoV-2 is free through http://bit.ly/QCfreetest, according to Quezon City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) chief Rolando Cruz.
“Hindi natin puwedeng isantabi ang posibilidad na nagkahawaan dahil sa dami ng dumalo. Mabuti nang makasiguro na hindi natin mahawaan ang ating pamilya at mga kasama sa komunidad,” Cruz said in a statement on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
“Our office will remain open for support from Ms. Locsin and her camp, considering the effort and cost of doing testing and contact tracing of those who participated in the community pantry. We hope to be furnished with any pertinent information that could aid us in immediately identifying, testing and isolating suspected Covid 19 cases,” he added.
Residents may also get in touch with the QC contact tracing hotlines 8703-2759, 8703-4398, 0916-122-8628, 0908-639-8086, 0931-095-7737.
Thousands trooped to Locsin’s community pantry in Barangay Holy Spirit to get free food supplies on Friday, April 23. Physical distancing was not observed.
A 67-year-old balut vendor, who had queued since 3 a.m. that day, collapsed several hours later. He was declared dead at a hospital.
Mel Sta. Maria Jr., dean of Far Eastern University Institute of Law, said Locsin was not liable for the man’s death nor the violation of health protocols.
In a Twitter post, Sta. Maria said there was no negligence nor reckless imprudence on Locsin’s part because she had merely set up a community pantry.
“Angel Locsin is not liable at all. There is no crime when there is no criminal mind. Neither was there negligence in putting up a table as community pantry. It was just there to be approached. It wan’t also an accident due to any action of Angel Locsin,” Sta. Maria said.
“She wanted to do good. People responded. We pray for the deceased, but Angel cannot be responsible for everyone there every step of the way. That’s too much stretch just to find fault,” he added.
Guidelines
Meanwhile, Quezon City has issued guidelines for the operation of community pantries.
Aside from ensuring compliance with minimum health protocols, sanitation and orderliness in their surroundings, organizers also have to coordinate with the barangay.
Mayor Joy Belmonte stressed that no barangay permit nor clearance is required.
She said the purpose of the coordination is for crowd control measures, such as setting a cut-off time for persons in a queue, limiting the number of persons served in a day or for certain time periods, and using marshals to enforce health protocols and prevent overcrowding.
Community pantries can operate only from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. based on the curfew protocol amid the prevailing modified enhanced community quarantine in the National Capital Region.
“They are also responsible for food safety. Food must be fresh or not expired, and no adulterated, spoiled or unsanitary foods shall be distributed,” Belmonte said.
She also encouraged pantry operators to adopt a system to mitigate abuse following reports about certain persons abusing the initiative and taking more than their fair share.
“For example, the pantries have the option to impose item limits per person or household, or limit their patrons to bona fide barangay residents,” she said.
“Law enforcement shall refrain from intervening except in cases of manifest breach of health or safety protocols,” the mayor added. (SunStar Philippines)