Actress and philanthropist Angel Locsin apologized on Friday (April 23) for what transpired the same day at the community pantry she organized for her birthday in Barangay Holy Spirit, Quezon City.
Locsin confirmed in a Facebook post that the reported death of a senior citizen lining up for essential goods at the community pantry did occur. She said she has already coordinated with the family of the 67-year-old victim.
“Ang nangyari po ay akin pong pagkakamali. Sana po’y wag madamay ang ibang community pantries na maganda po ang nangyari [What happened was my fault. I hope that this will not reflect on other pantries that are going well]. Sa ngayon po [For now], I will prioritize helping the family and I will make it my responsibility to help them get through this,” she said.
She said they have established a “fast lane” for senior citizens, after noticing the number of them lining up for goods, and clarified that they are not encouraging them to go out, in accordance with government rules.
Meanwhile, Holy Spirit Barangay Captain Chito Valmocina believes the actress holds accountability for what happened.
“Ito sanang trahedyang ito ay hindi na maulit. Sana ito ang una at huli na, sapagkat napakaraming pagkakamali ang nakita ko sa nangyari ngayon,” Valmocina said.
[We hope this tragedy will not be repeated. We hope that this will be the first and the last, because we saw many mistakes today.]
The barangay chief said the organizers of the community pantry requested for only two barangay “tanod” or public safety officers because they were only expecting around 300 beneficiaries.
The office of Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte will shoulder the burial expenses of the victim. Financial assistance was also handed to the bereaved family.
Belmonte reiterated that they support community pantries; however, there must be coordination to prevent untoward incidents.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) advised community pantry organizers to coordinate with local government units and the police for crowd control and the enforcement of health and safety protocols to prevent overcrowding and physical distancing violations. – Report from Eunice Samonte/AG-jlo
Watch this report from Eunice Samonte for more details:
