Is community service an act of political resistance? the “community pantry” phenomenon in the Philippines and voter behaviour

Abstract

ABSTRACT To what extent can apolitical civic engagement cultivate resistance against authoritarian rule? Building upon the “community pantries” phenomenon which sprung up between April and May 2021 across the Philippines, I test whether this jolt of civic engagement – decentralized, donation-driven and volunteer-managed food pantry sites – impacted the May 2022 presidential election. I find that areas with more community pantries relative to population were more likely to vote for Robredo, the candidate that most closely represented the democratic opposition. These findings suggest that civic engagement, even that which is not explicitly political or partisan in nature, can be an effective form of democratic resistance in autocratizing settings. This article seeks to contribute to the literature on civic engagement and democratization, strategies of autocratic backlash, and social movement repertoires.