key: cord-1001318-1c0ee1be
authors: Cordero, Dalmacito A
title: Virtue of solidarity or vice of laziness: Understanding the existence of Philippine community pantries during the COVID-19 pandemic
date: 2021-06-01
journal: J Public Health (Oxf)
DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab185
sha: 2afcc08096e8c48761a91942eadd1c3d4d4a4ed6
doc_id: 1001318
cord_uid: 1c0ee1be

nan

In a recent correspondence published in this journal, the authors surveyed the sudden engenderment of community pantries in the Philippines as a way of filling the gaps that is supposed to be coming from the government. 1 They also highlighted in another related correspondence that the virtue of solidarity can be our companion to get through this pandemic, 2 and these pantries are definitely an expression of the said virtue. I definitely support the idea of this great initiative from the public and that it was indeed a showcase of Filipino solidarity in times of crisis. However, we cannot simply set aside the criticisms of some people that were thrown on those who are regularly lining up on these free food banks for almost every single day. Though the virtue of solidarity is evident especially from those who donate such commodities as well as the volunteers, the program is also branded as an avenue where the recipients are hooked to become too dependent and lazier. Thus, the virtue of solidarity is tainted with the vice of laziness. In line with this, the significant question arises: Should the community pantries cease to operate to avoid the poor/needy of having been totally engulfed with laziness, thus, encouraging idleness and tolerating their helplessness?

In theology, vice is mostly defined as the absence of virtue, while philosophers followed Aristotle in locating virtue as a mean between two opposite 'vices,' one representing an excess, the other a lack of the virtuous quality in question. 3 Laziness is being not able to carry out some activity that the person ought to carry out but is disinclined to do so because of the effort involved. 4 From this definition, it implies that one is only characterized as 'lazy' when there is a lack of or no effort at all or there is an opportunity and yet one decides not to take it. The poor and needy Filipinos who are regularly lining up in the community pantries do not reflect what 'laziness' is all about despite how many times they do it. The reason is simply because there is not much opportunity for work or livelihood given the serious effects of the pandemic. Aside from the pandemic's effect to public health, findings from a national study revealed that nearly all respondents suffered severe financial consequences due to the crisis, suggesting that the effect of COVID-19 on poor National Capital Region households may be far larger than anticipated. These data provide tentative evidence that the effects of the crisis are far more severe than estimated by a recent widely shared study. 5 One must remember that these pantries are not a permanent solution to the problem of poverty during the pandemic. They are simply the quickest way of providing 'first aid' to hungry stomachs, which cannot anymore wait for the government's assistance since physical hunger always requires an immediate response for survival. It seeks for instant remedies since there is an 'emergency' time element involved. To conclude, there community pantries must continue as long as the crisis is not yet over and there are of course people who never run out of compassion to help. After the pandemic, when everything turns to normalcy, Filipinos for sure will grab every opportunity to work again for their families. Their love for their respective families is unconditional and it runs in their blood since time immemorial.

Philippine community pantries as a way of helping the marginalized during the COVID-19 pandemic

Solidarity as a companion virtue in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

The Psychology of Laziness: The psychology of laziness, procrastination, and idleness

The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Households in the National Capital Region of the Philippines