The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and its allied organizations have strongly condemned the violent dispersal and arrests by police targeting youth protesters at Ayala Bridge and Mendiola in Manila on September 21. Police reportedly detained at least 216 individuals, including 89 minors, with the youngest aged just nine.

The arrests began after a heated and violent confrontation erupted between police and young protesters angered by government corruption and rottenness. The first clash broke out at Ayala Bridge as Bayan marched toward Mendiola.

Another confrontation erupted between the police and the groups at Mendiola as Bayan’s program ended. Video footage captured police violently assaulting the youth with truncheons, kicks, and injurious dragging.

“The people’s anger against corrupt officials and the police who are protecting the rich and powerful was seen today in the violent confrontation between the police and mostly young people in Ayala Bridge and Mendiola,” Bayan said. The group emphasized that it tried to calm the situation and prevent injuries, but the youth’s fury over the country’s condition was overwhelming.

Bayan reported that police arrested 12 members of its organizations, activists and student leaders including University of the Philippines’ Mattheo “Wovi” Villanueva, and one each from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philippine Normal University. Also arrested was Marikina youth Alexis “Chocoy” Lasic, a person with disability and a flood victim.

The violence injured tens of activists including Bayan president Renato Reyes Jr whose face was bloodied after being struck by a stone thrown by protesting youth, prompting his immediate hospitalization.

“Do I condemn the angry people throwing stones and stuff? No. I may not agree with their tactics, but I understand their anger. We are not about to condemn the poor who express their anger against the system. The system is culpable for the people’s deep anger,” Reyes declared.

The Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) said the anger and cries of protesting youth echoed the voices of victims of hunger, poverty, flooding, demolitions, and extrajudicial killings in the war on drugs. “This anger will continue to erupt despite teargas, handcuffs, and violent dispersals, unless the social system changes,” the group said.

Karapatan noted that the police violence and brutality under the Marcos regime in Mendiola mirrored the excessive force used during Marcos Sr’s dictatorship to suppress protests under martial law. “Their rights to legal counsel, to speak with family and human rights organizations, and to immediate medical attention must be respected at all times,” the group demanded.

After the arrests, the police deprived detainees of their rights. Families and lawyers were not allowed immediate access, and police ignored relatives waiting outside the Manila Police District Headquarters in Ermita on the night of September 21.

On September 22, progressive youth groups and human rights defenders staged a protest in front of the Manila Police District Headquarters in Ermita, demanding the release of detainees. They demand holding the police accountable for violence and brutality against the people.

Karapatan’s Atty. Maria Sol Taule and representatives from the Makabayan Bloc—ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Atty. Renee Co—visited the detention facility to communicate with the families and detention victims.

Following the protests and violent confrontations, Karapatan urged the public to closely monitor Malacañang’s response. The group stressed, “Malacañang must not use these protests as justification to suppress the people’s demands for transparency, accountability, and an end to corruption.”