AT least 216 individuals, including 89 minors, were arrested by the police in connection with the violent protest actions on Sunday in Manila and may be charged with several cases, including sedition, Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla said yesterday.
Remulla said the protesters, who had been described as “anarchists” and “terrorists,” are currently being interrogated to determine the instigators of the rot at the Ayala Bridge and Mendiola in Manila.
“We will label them as terrorists. And as far as sedition (ang) pwede namin i-charge sa kanila. We’ve proven it already (We will label them as terrorists. And as far as sedition, we can charge them. We’ve proven it already),” he said, referring to the initial investigation results, with some of those arrested reportedly admitting planning to burn Malacanang.
Remulla said there was some “chatter” during the ongoing rally at the Rizal Park in Manila on Sunday morning that some of the protesters were proceeding to Mendiola with lighters.
“Nandiyan iyong arson, nandiyan iyong grave physical injuries and we can go as far as sedition. Iyong statement lang nila na, ‘Gusto naming sunugin iyong Palasyo’ is a seditious act in itself (Arson is there, grave physical injuries and we can go as far as sedition. Their statement that they want to burn the palace is a seditious act in itself),” said Remulla when asked what charges would be filed against those arrested.
Of the minors who were arrested, 65 were aged 15 to 17 years old, while 24 were 14 years old and below.
An unidentified individual was declared dead on arrival (DOA) at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) after sustaining a stab wound in the aftermath of the violent protest in Recto, Manila, last Sunday.
Rallyists burned a container van, a motorcycle and tires at the Ayala Bridge and also attempted to burn a backhoe at Mendiola.
The rioters also destroyed some properties, looted an inn, and threw rocks and Molotov bombs at the police.
Remulla said a total of 95 PNP personnel were injured in the Mendiola clashes, some requiring medical treatment for serious injuries.
“We knew that they would try, they would attempt. We had suspicion that they would use violence. But the directive of the President is to use maximum tolerance,” he said, adding the police were unarmed or did not have any guns while trying to hold off the rioters.
Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. reported that the nationwide demonstrations were generally peaceful and drew about 84,000 participants in 130 sites, 16 of them in Metro Manila.
Nartatez said the incident at Ayala Bridge and Mendiola, both near Malacañang, were “isolated incidents.”
He said they are still determining if what transpired in Manila City could be considered an act of terrorism.
‘’It will be the result of the continuing investigation as we look at the evidence. So, that’s why maybe it can lead to terrorism or violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act,’’ Nartatez said in mixed English and Filipino.
Remulla, meanwhile, said some “local terrorist groups” wanted to sabotage the September 21 movement against corruption, which resulted in heightened alerts and contingencies in place.
He, however, said that the “threat of the terrorist was more of a bomb that would go off in Luneta or in the People Power Monument,” which did not transpire.
“Safe to say, we are still investigating according to our intelligence report and we will come out with a report pretty soon,” he added.
He said Malacañang remains under constant high alert even after the violent rally. Nartatez said they are continuously assessing the situation amid a risk of potential violence spilling over from Mindanao-based armed groups.
“Continuously ina-assess po natin iyan… we have the communist terrorist group, we have the local terrorist group, lalo na kung may (especially if there is) spillover from Mindanao, especially with elections there. We have the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters), the DI (Dawlah Islamiya) Hassan, DI Maute and other threats,” he said.
He said police had conducted security sweeps and reinforced checkpoints in public transport hubs in coordination with the Department of Transportation to prevent the entry of firearms and explosives into Metro Manila.
PBBM CONDEMNS VIOLENT PROTEST
Malacañang had condemned the violence that marred Sunday’s mass protests in Manila, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowing to hold accountable those behind the incident.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro reiterated that the President respected the people’s right to assemble, including expressing anger over irregularities in the suspected anomalous flood control projects.
“Peaceful rally, nasamahan ng iilang nais manggulo. Mananagot ang lahat, iyan ang nais ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa lahat ng sinumang gumamit ng karahasan sa naganap na peaceful rally noong Linggo (It was a peaceful rally, disrupted by a few who wanted trouble. Everyone will be held accountable —that is what President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wants for all who used violence during the peaceful rally last Sunday),” Castro said.
“Team Itim kung maituturing, hindi sila raliyista na may lehitimong adhikain laban sa korapsiyon kung hindi gumawa lang ng karahasan, magnakaw, manunog at manira. Hindi kayo makakalagpas sa kamay ng batas… Hustisya ang uusig sa inyo (They can be called Team Black —not rallyists with a legitimate cause against corruption but only out to commit violence, steal, burn, and destroy. You will not escape the hand of the law… Justice will go after you),” she added.
Remulla said the President had been monitoring the rallies in a secure location the whole day of Sunday and had emphasized that maximum tolerance should be observed.
93 COPS INJURED
In a press briefing at the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame, MPD spokesman Maj. Philipp Ines said 93 policemen were injured in the incidents.
Ines said 51 suspects were arrested in relation to the burning of a trailer truck at Ayala Bridge, including 13 minors.
Twenty-one suspects — 14 adults and seven minors — were nabbed in Mendiola, where the protesters hurled stones and Molotov bombs at policemen.
Meanwhile, 41 persons (28 minors and 13 adults) were arrested in CM Recto, where the violence from Mendiola extended.
“The total is 65 adults and 48 minors,” said Ines, referring to the 113 arrested suspects, who he said are from various cities in Metro Manila.
Of the injured policemen, Ines said they have already accounted for 93, nine of them confined at the PNP General Hospital.
Ines said the arrested suspects were from a hip-hop group who were “influenced” online by a hip personality, whom the police official did not identify.
“Initially, based on the information that we got, these are members of a hip-hop gangster…They are claiming they were influenced by a (hip-hop) personality. But we have yet to validate this. This is only based on the account of those in our custody,” said Ines.
Ines said the MPD has coordinated with the PNP Cybercrime Group to verify the claim of the suspects.
“What they are saying is that they were influenced online,” said Ines, without elaborating pending the probe.
Asked if politicians or other personalities were involved, Ines just said they are looking into all angles.
On whether the suspects planned to go to Malacanang, Ines said: “We have no information about that. What we know is that these individuals caused violence, damaged property, and hurt authorities.”
He also downplayed reports about gunshots that were supposedly heard during the confrontation in Mendiola.
Ines said the sounds came from Molotov bombs hurled by the suspects.
“These were caused by the Molotovs coming from the people who caused the trouble,” said Ines, adding that policemen even recovered Molotov bombs at the scene during clearing operations.
MPD ON FULL ALERT
The Manila Police District remained on full alert status a day after the massive anti-corruption rallies that were marred by violence.
MPD spokesperson Maj. Philip Ines said they are closely monitoring areas in the city in the wake of the violent confrontation that left scores of rioters and policemen injured.
“Nasa full alert pa din kami sa ngayon. Hindi pa natin binababa ang alert level (We are still on full alert status. We have yet to lower the alert level),” Ines said in a press briefing.
“Naitawid naman natin ng maayos kahapon liban na lang dito sa mga isolated cases na nangyari sa Ayala Bridge at Mendiola (We were able to go through with it yesterday except for isolated cases in Ayala Bridge and Mendiola),” he added, referring to the confrontation between the police and the rioters.
Authorities said 129 policemen and 76 civilians were injured in the clashes.
But Ines said the MPD, especially its intelligence division, is still monitoring several areas in the city.
The National Capital Region Police Office raised the full alert status in the metropolis last September 20.
Ines claimed that a group of hip-hop gangsters, who may have been influenced by a certain rapper, was possibly behind Sunday’s violent confrontation.
Ines, in particular, referred to the individuals wearing masks, black shirts and bonnets who hurled rocks, bricks and bottles at the police contingent deployed at Ayala Bridge and Mendiola.
He said the MPD is also coordinating with the PNP Cybercrime Group to check the veracity of the claim of some of those arrested that they were encouraged online.
“Magkakaroon tayo ng masusing imbestigasyon at hindi tayo papayag na hindi natin sila mapanagot sa batas (We will conduct a thorough investigation and we will not allow these individuals not to be held accountable under our laws),” he added.
In a related development, family members and friends of those arrested staged a protest action in front of the MPD headquarters on UN Avenue, Manila, to press their call for authorities to allow them access and release their kin.
Among those protesting were relatives of Alexis “Chokoy” Lasic, a person with disability and a member of the Young Marikina Artists Collective who was arrested Sunday.
Lasic and 48 other youths are detained at the MPD headquarters.
Makabayan lawmakers- Gabriela Women’s Partylist Rep. Sarah Elago, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio, and lawyer Maria Sol Taule from Karapatan also visited the arrested individuals to assist them in their legal needs.
DEAD ON ARRIVAL
In a brief statement, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Monday that there was one death reported at the JRRMMC.
“Isang hindi pa nakikilalang lalaki ang kumpirmadong nasawi na idineklarang dead on arrival dahil sa tinamong saksak,” said the DOH.
The casualty is among the 48 patients attended to by the JRRMMC after the protest actions held in the Mendiola-Recto area. The other 47 individuals sustained various types of injuries, including protesters and policemen.
These include two police officers, who sustained minor injuries, particularly lacerations and bruising on the body. The two policemen were immediately released after treatment.
The DOH said six other patients sustained different injuries, including a cut on the leg, eye trauma, head trauma, injury to the vein in the left arm, gunshot wound, and severe wound to the arm.
Four of the six have been released after treatment, while two are currently admitted for further treatment at the JRRMMC.
As for the remaining 39 protesters, the DOH said they are currently undergoing physical examination as part of the process before being taken to jail.
There is no immediate danger to their health, said the health department.
The DOH said the medical bills of the concerned individuals will be covered by the “Zero Balance Billing” program.
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
A staff member of Gabriela party-list said lawyers of militant groups, including incoming Rep. Sarah Elago (PL, Gabriela), are assisting those arrested during Sunday night’s riot.
The source quoted one of the lawyers as saying that 216 individuals were arrested, including 67 Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) and 24 Children at Risk (CAR).
“We are still accounting for how many of them are affiliated with progressive groups,” the source said, adding that it would be difficult to distinguish who among the rioters is from the militant organizations since all wore black.
Elago, in a statement, denounced what she said was the police’s excessive use of force against the protesters, saying it is “unacceptable.” She also called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to look into the incident.
“Bakit ang bilis hulihin ang mga mamamayang nagtatanggol sa kanilang karapatan, habang ang mga korap ay hanggang ngayon malayang nakakapagnakaw sa kaban ng bayan? (Why is it so easy to arrest people who are defending their rights while the corrupt freely steal from the county’s coffers?)” she said.
Elago said one of those arrested was Alexis “Chocoy” Lasic, a person with disability (PWD) and a flood victim, who was allegedly illegally detained for hours before she was found by his family and friends in the custody of the Manila Police District.
Rep. Leila de Lima (PL, Mamamayang Liberal) condemned the violence, saying “this is not what we aimed for in going to the various rallies yesterday against corruption and the plunder of government infrastructure projects.
“This is not how we deal with disgust at people who steal billions while millions go hungry,” said the former senator and justice secretary, who was jailed under the Duterte administration.
De Lima, however, said she could not “get myself to condemn the groups that instigated the violence, only their violent methods.”
“The crowd at Mendiola appears to have largely consisted of urban poor youth organized in social media interest groups,” she said.
“They came to protest with us. Whether we like it or not, they are also fed up with the corruption of DPWH officials, congressmen and senators, and government contractors. More than us, they literally are that sector of the population from whom food that is to be fed to their families is snatched from their mouths by the likes of Sarah and Curlee Discaya, former DPWH Engineers Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez, and corrupt lawmakers and public officials,” De Lima added.
De Lima also commiserated with the Manila policemen “who became victims of their violence for simply doing their job.” “I am impressed by their patience and display of maximum tolerance. You did not deserve to be at the receiving end of the violence,” she said.
“I would like to appeal to the Manila Police District not to compound the violence that transpired yesterday with another kind of violence, the violence of the State. Huwag na sana ninyong ipagkait sa mga raliyistang inaresto ang kanilang karapatan sa abogado at iba pang karapatan ng mga naaresto (I’m hoping that you will not deprive arrested rallyists of their right to be represented by a lawyer and the other rights of those arrested),” she said.
CHR PROBE
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has launched an inquiry into the clash between protesters and crowd control personnel of the PNP in Mendiola, Manila, during the September 21, 2025 Trillion Peso March.
The CHR said it is collating reports from monitoring teams deployed earlier to monitor conditions in major rally points, including Luneta Park, the EDSA Shrine, and different points in Quezon City and Manila, including the Ayala Bridge, Mendiola, and Recto Avenue. A CHR team was also deployed to the Manila Police District (MPD) Headquarters.
“The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), through its National Capital Region office and a composite team from its Central Office, monitored the series of protest actions to denounce the widespread corruption in government on Sunday, 21 September 2025,” it said in a statement released to the media.
The monitor reported peaceful assemblies in the morning at the Luneta Park with several sectors participating, including labor, youth, student, religious, and environmental organizations but tensions escalated at random places in Manila.
These resulted in clashes between groups and police later in the afternoon running into Sunday evening.
“The Commission reiterates that protests hold a rightful place in a democratic society. However, the exercise of rights must not endanger others or compromise public safety,” it declared.
“Likewise, while the State may regulate assemblies to preserve public order, such measures must always comply with human rights standards, guided by the principles of necessity, proportionality, and accountability,” the CHR added.
It is also looking into reports of some members of the media being subjected to harassment by groups of protesters.
“The CHR will likewise continue to monitor the condition of detained individuals, particularly minors. Further impartial inquiry will also be undertaken regarding reports that law enforcement authorities may have violated the police rules of procedure on the use of force,” the commission said. – With Ashzel Hachero, Gerard Naval, Wendell Vigilia, Peter Tabingo and Christian Oineza
