Group: Detained minors were just bystanders

A children's group on Wednesday, 24 September, lamented that minors who were arrested during the 21 September protest in Manila were merely bystanders.

In a statement, the Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns slammed Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla for "spreading disinformation" regarding children arrested amid anti-corruption protests last Sunday in Mendiola and Recto.

Trixie Manalo, spokesperson of Salinlahi, said parents of the illegally detained children reported that they were just bystanders arbitrarily arrested when police swept through their community.

Although most of the minors were bystanders, Salinlahi asserted that minors are entitled to their right to participate in socio-civic activities.

"If there are minors who were caught joining the protest, there is nothing wrong with that. They have the right to protest against corruption that is stealing the future of Filipino children," Manalo said.

Salinlahi issued the statement after Remulla claimed that the riot that erupted in Mendiola was an organized act of "destabilization."

He also alleged that the participants, who belonged to an organized group, were paid P3,000 each.

As of Wednesday, 216 persons were arrested in various protest locations on Sunday, such as Ayala Bridge, Mendiola, and Recto — 95 of whom are minors.