Arrest tally grows after Philippine anti-corruption protest clashes
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Protesters sitting on the ground after getting caught by police officers during a protest in Manila on Sept 21.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MANILA - Anxious Filipino parents braved the rain outside Manila’s police headquarters on Sept 22, after more than 200 people – including dozens of children – were arrested in clashes that erupted during weekend anti-corruption demonstrations
At least 88 minors were among the initial count of 216 taken into custody on Sept 21 as the police deployed water cannon and deafening sirens against crowds of mostly young, rock-throwing protesters.
Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno said a 12-year-old boy was the youngest detained.
Ms Michelle Blanco told AFP news agency her son, Zoren, was 13. Standing in a line outside the Manila Police District offices, the 45-year-old saleswoman said she had not been told when her son would be released, despite having spent most of the day there.
“A little information about how they are doing inside or what we should do to get him out means a lot,” she said, insisting her son had only been watching when he was scooped off the street.
Ms Elsie Santos said her son Reden had a speech impediment, showing AFP journalists the 27-year-old’s PWD, or person with disability, card.
“No one is explaining anything to us at this point,” she said, as a small group of youth activists chanted for the prisoners’ release in the background.
“My son cannot communicate properly, and I’m scared they won’t understand him when he explains himself.”
Thousands of Filipinos rallied in Manila on Sept 21 to vent their anger over a ballooning scandal involving bogus flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
The scandal has seen numerous lawmakers implicated and the leaders of both Houses of Congress step down from their positions during an investigation.
But the street battles, which saw multiple police vehicles set ablaze and the windows of a precinct headquarters shattered, threatened to overshadow demonstrations that had been filled with families, activists, clergy and politicians.
“So far, none of them are saying the reasons behind their actions or if somebody paid them to do it,” regional police spokeswoman Hazel Asilo told AFP.
She added: “As soon as we know their affiliations, we can know if they were part of the protesters or if they were just causing trouble.”
According to a statement released on Sept 22 by the Department of Health, about 50 people were taken to a Manila hospital following the clashes.
The police said 93 officers were injured in the melees.
Amid accusations by at least one local rights group that the police had used disproportionate force, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said their response had been one of “maximum tolerance”.
“They only had their riot gear and no firearms,” he said of the 4,000 police deployed, noting that no weapons had been discharged or tear gas fired.
Rage over so-called ghost infrastructure projects has been mounting in the South-east Asian country since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr put them centre stage in a July State of the Nation address that followed weeks of deadly flooding.
The Department of Finance estimated that the Philippine economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (S$2.67 billion) from 2023 to 2025 owing to corruption in flood control projects.
Greenpeace has suggested the number is actually closer to US$18 billion (S$23 billion).
The Philippines was expecting heavy flooding on Sept 22 as Super Typhoon Ragasa bore down on the country’s northernmost provinces.
The archipelago nation is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, putting millions of people in disaster-prone areas in a state of constant poverty. AFP
