Bayan group slams arrest of around 40 youths during protest
"The people are angry. The youth are angry over corruption and the thieves. Those who should be arrested are the corrupt officials and contractors," he added.
"The people are angry. The youth are angry over corruption and the thieves. Those who should be arrested are the corrupt officials and contractors," he added.
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) condemned the Philippine National Police (PNP) for arresting youth activists while a protest was still ongoing along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.
Bayan Secretary-General Raymond "Mong" Palatino said the arrests were illegal, deliberate, and planned.
Palatino confirmed that around 35 to 40 youths, who are members of Vandals United, were arrested.
"What the police did was wrong. They made arrests right in the middle of our ranks. Even under their own protocol, that is prohibited. You are not supposed to make arrests while a protest is ongoing," he said in an interview.
The secretary-general added that the protesters were only peacefully exercising their right to free expression.
"What the police did clearly appears to have been deliberate and premeditated. They planned to arrest these young people regardless of their reasons, even though they were peacefully expressing their protest," Palatino argued.
"The people are angry. The youth are angry over corruption and the thieves. Those who should be arrested are the corrupt officials and contractors," he added.
Meanwhile, Bayan President Renato Reyes said police officers also attempted to run them over while they were trying to prevent the arrest of the youth activists.
He described the authorities' actions as "cruel" and said they were also threatened with arrest if they continued to intervene.
Reyes called on the PNP to disclose the identities of the arrested youths and specify the violations they allegedly committed, if any.
Earlier, three youths were also arrested in a separate protest in Matandang Balara after tensions flared between demonstrators and the police.
