MANILA – Human rights group Karapatan condemned what they described as brutal acts of the police which resulted in dire injuries and imprisonment of at least 70 protesters on Sept. 21, Sunday. 

It was in Mendiola peace arch where tension rose between the protestors and the police. The program led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) had ended by then. The organizer already announced organized dispersal but many protesters were not yet leaving the area. Bayan president Renato Reyes Jr said they were leaving when commotion broke out. 

Police were seen violently arresting young protesters. According to Karapatan-National Capital Region (NCR), many were brought to Manila Police District. 

“Bayan members attempted to calm the situation, but the surge of deep anger became uncontrollable,” the group wrote in a statement. Reyes himself was injured. 

Bayan said they deplored the violent response of the police in handling the young protesters in Mendiola. “So much public resources are spent on security yet the police could not respond to the situation in a restrained and organized fashion. Aside from showing empathy for the sentiments of the youth and ordinary Filipinos who are frustrated and have already lost hope in the current state of affairs, the police could have exercised maximum tolerance. This anger should be met with understanding and a willingness to address the legitimate concerns of the poor,” Bayan said. 

Karapatan meanwhile said the police’s conduct against the young protesters can be likened to the kind of disproportionate and excessive force employed by Marcos Sr. in quelling street protests during martial law. 

“Many were apparently picked up simply because they were wearing sandos, shorts and slippers. Their parents and even lawyers who have not been allowed into the police station to see them are worried because of reports that many of those arrested have been injured and are in need of medical attention,” the group said in a statement. 

Young Marikina Artist Collective (YMAC) said that their member, Alexis “Chokoy” Lasic, also a person with disability, was just standing outside a jeepney parked along Ayala Boulevard corner San Marcelino Street along with a group of senior citizens after joining the protest in Luneta. When chaos broke out at Ayala Bridge, the group said Lasic was seized, kicked and violently arrested by the police from MPD. They added that Lasic was not among those who threw objects at the police during the incident at Ayala Bridge. He is still at the MPD with others who were also arrested.   

Karapatan meanwhile warned that the Malacañang should use the protests as “pretexts for suppressing the people’s demand for transparency, accountability and an end to systemic corruption.”

“Protests are clear manifestations of the masses’ intense anger at their plight vis a vis the scandalous displays of ill-gotten wealth by those involved in corruption, and their dissatisfaction or even suspicion over the steps taken by the Marcos Jr. regime against it,” Karapatan said. (RTS)