THE spirit of bayanihan among Filipinos is alive and well.
And nowhere has it manifested itself more than the community pantries that have suddenly sprouted out during the past week in various areas in the Philippines, including the province of Laguna.
The proliferation of these community pantries in our province – and in other areas of the country – has opened up opportunities for Filipinos from all walks of life to reach out and help those who were most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It also busted, in grand fashion, the myth that you have to be rich in order to give to the needy.
As many documented cases in social media have shown, it’s those who need the goods being offered for free that often share whatever they could to others.
It’s sad and infuriating, therefore, that some have linked these community pantries to subversion and insinuated that the organizers have an ulterior motive.
These community pantries are borne out not of any political agenda (except, of course, for the traditional politicians trying to jump in the bandwagon) but out of one single compulsion: the innate desire of the human being to help out those in need.
There’s no better time to spread the “virus of giving” (pardon the pun) than in this global pandemic that has left millions on the brink of penury and starvation.