Global rights group decries violent arrests in 21 September rally in Manila

A global rights group has decried the arrests of individuals who threw rocks, destroyed property, and burned tires during a protest action in Manila on 21 September.

The Manila Police District earlier reported that 216 persons were nabbed as of 23 September in various locations, including Ayala Bridge, Mendiola, and Recto. Among those apprehended were minors.

In a statement, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemned the police crackdown, which it said resulted in severe injuries and the death of one protester. The group demanded that detained individuals be given access to legal counsel, communication with families and human rights organizations, and emergency medical treatment.

ICHRP chairperson Peter Murphy said the demonstrations were “a legitimate outpouring of people’s anger at a kleptocratic government,” rejecting attempts to dismiss them as mere “riots.” “The youth, urban poor, and workers who joined the standoff in the historic Mendiola Bridge were not ‘thugs.’ They are citizens whose communities are drowning in poverty and floodwaters while the powerful enrich themselves,” Murphy said. “Their rage was directed at a system that steals their future and violates their dignity,” he added.

On Sunday afternoon, black-clad, ski mask–wearing individuals clashed with police at the foot of Ayala Bridge in Manila and set ablaze a trailer truck, a motorcycle, and tires while hurling stones at officers. In Mendiola, similarly dressed individuals hurled rocks, bottles, and other objects at police, prompting the use of tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. The situation escalated in Recto on Sunday evening, where part of a budget hotel was ransacked and set ablaze, and several stoplights were damaged.

On Monday, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno hinted that the individuals in Mendiola may have been paid, saying in a radio interview that he received intelligence reports about instigators funding the unrest.

Murphy countered that those arrested — many from the urban poor and unjustly labeled as “criminals” — were youth outraged by corrupt flood control and infrastructure projects.

“They came from poor families who now face crushing bail costs and hospital expenses. We call for their immediate release and for full accountability for the rights abuses committed,” he said.

The National Union of People’s Lawyers and Karapatan are extending legal aid to arrested protesters.

Rage over the alleged multi-billion–peso flood control anomalies has been flaring since President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. spotlighted the issue in his State of the Nation Address in July, following weeks of deadly flooding. The Department of Finance estimates that the Philippine economy lost up to P118.5 billion from 2023 to 2025 due to corruption in flood control projects.