The newly formed group Alyansa Laban sa Korapsyon at Brutalidad ng Pulis (Alliance Against Corruption and Police Brutality, or AKAB) condemned the Manila Police District (MPD) for arresting Decay, a youth who joined the farmers’ protest in Mendiola, Manila on October 21. AKAB considered his arrest on charges of vandalism as arbitrary and unjust.

According to the group, police officers arrested Decay from a jeep he was riding home from Mendiola. “The program had already ended, but they chased the protesters up to the jeep they were riding, blocked the vehicle, and forcibly accosted the person without explaining the reason for his arrest,” AKAB stated.

The police also threatened Decay’s fellow protesters in the jeep who tried to stop the arrest. They were allegedly warned of multiple criminal charges, including obstruction of justice.

“The arrest showed the police’s proficiency in silencing and suppressing the legitimate demands of the people,” AKAB said. The group stated that young people like Decay and other sectors were present to support the farmers’ struggle for genuine land reform, against militarization in the countryside, and against severe corruption under the Marcos regime.

AKAB added that the arrest of a single protester served as the police’s symbolic score point against the demonstration, a publicity stunt by the mayor of Manila, and a drama that “law operates” in his city. “They want to absolve themselves while justice is being sought for all who were harmed, arrested, beaten, charged, and killed on September 21, exactly a month ago,” the group declared.

Recall that the police arrested and illegally detained at least 277 individuals, including 91 minors, for several days on September 21. The detainees bore marks of torture and physical abuse such as bruises, broken bones, head injuries, and trauma. They suffered further cruelty from the police during their prolonged detention.

Decay underwent an inquest hearing on October 22. AKAB and other groups demanded the dismissal of the charges filed against him by the police. “The police are brutal. The corrupt are the criminals. They are the ones who should be jailed and held accountable under the law, not the youth, farmers, and the people,” the group stated.