Rowegie Abanto

Volunteers set up community pantries for struggling drivers amid oil crisis. Photos by Patricia Non and Ermarie Fortuno

Article (news)

Volunteers set up community pantries for struggling drivers amid oil crisis

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1774509928463composites 2 (1) (9).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Volunteers set up community pantries for struggling drivers amid oil crisis. <em>Photos by Patricia Non and Ermarie Fortuno</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Volunteers in Metro Manila and other provinces are setting up community pantries for public transportation drivers, one of the hardest hit by rising fuel prices due to the Middle East war, according to organizer <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/07/23/community-pantry-mover-patricia-non-hopes-to-rescue-farmers">Patricia Non</a>, who led the same initiative that inspired others to follow suit during the COVID pandemic.</p><p>The oil crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war with Iran sent the cost of petroleum products in the Philippines to record highs and led President Marcos Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a state of <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/24/marcos-declares-state-of-national-energy-emergency-1927">national energy emergency</a>.</p><p>Many transport drivers have been forced to ply routes longer than their usual work hours keep up with soaring diesel prices and to still bring home income to make ends meet even as the government rolls out cash aid for them. </p><p>Some of them have also joined transport strikes to call for better government response to the problem.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/24/manila-s-jeepney-drivers-struggle-as-middle-east-war-sends-diesel-cost-soaring-1401">Manila&#x27;s jeepney drivers struggle as Middle East war sends diesel cost soaring</a></div><p>To respond to the situation, community volunteers — mostly students, mothers and employees — have put up or are planning to set up pantries for struggling drivers and food delivery riders in Quezon City, Pasig, Marikina, and Valenzuela, Non told ABS-CBN News in a phone interview on Thursday.</p><p>&quot;Habang nagtataas po ang presyo ng gas at tuloy tuloy po ang transport strikes dating gawi po tayo para suportahan naman ang mga drivers,&quot; she wrote in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4300598553531161&amp;set=a.1724450561145986">Facebook post</a>, which showed a photo of a pantry in Maginhawa Street filled with vegetables and rice.</p><p>&quot;Sa mga drayber, tsuper at riders kaisa nyo po kami.&quot;</p><p>Community pantries inspire individuals to donate any food products and tell those who are in need to get supplies just enough for them.</p><p>Volunteer Ermarie Fortuno and her group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1265535045766458&amp;set=a.106188221701152">also announced</a> on Facebook that they have placed a community pantry in Barangay Biga in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro.</p><p>&quot;Nagbukas kami ng maliit na community pantry sa tapat ng aming bahay. Sa ngayon, may nakalaan kaming bigas, papaya, lemon, at SkyFlakes. Maliit man, sana makatulong kahit papaano sa araw-araw,&quot; said Fortuno.</p><p>Non and other volunteers thought of reactivating community pantries as the energy situation became serious, she said, adding that their objective was to also encourage other people to do the same and to call for accountability.</p><p>&quot;Kung ano yung kayang itulong habang nanghihingi tayo ng accountability, mas maayos na policy para sa mga tao, puwede tayong tumulong sa paraan na kaya natin,&quot; she said.</p><p>She urged other groups to set up community pantries at transport terminals to cater to drivers and for commuters to easily drop off donations.</p><p>Non started a community pantry during the COVID pandemic, in 2021, with a small bamboo cart mostly filled with food supplies along Maginhawa Street, which sparked other volunteers to establish their own to help the needy.</p><p>At the time, many of Filipinos, including public utility drivers, were forced to stop work due to government-imposed lockdowns to curb a deadly virus.  </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hf7Fzyc2pS8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Volunteers in Metro Manila and other provinces are setting up community pantries for public transportation drivers, one of the hardest hit by rising fuel prices due to the Middle East war, according to organizer Patricia Non.</p>

Volunteers in Metro Manila and other provinces are setting up community pantries for public transportation drivers, one of the hardest hit by rising fuel prices due to the Middle East war, according to organizer Patricia Non.

'Kaisa n'yo po kami': Volunteers set up community pantries for struggling drivers amid oil crisis

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'Kaisa n'yo po kami': Volunteers set up community pantries for struggling drivers amid oil crisis

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 26, 2026 03:40 PM PHT

Read More:

Patricia Non

Community Pantry

Oil Crisis

Fuel Crisis

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