The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) announced it will carry out an independent investigation into the violent clashes that broke out during the September 21 anti-corruption protests in Manila.
According to the CHR, the inquiry will cover possible breaches of police procedures in the use of force, as well as reported harassment of media personnel on the ground. “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 said in a statement.
The commission stressed that while the State can regulate assemblies to preserve public order, restrictions must “always comply with human rights standards, guided by the principles of necessity, proportionality, and accountability.”
CHR teams were deployed both at protest sites and at the Manila Police District headquarters, where hundreds of demonstrators — including minors — were detained. “CHR continues to consolidate documentation and testimonies gathered by all deployed monitoring teams,” it added, noting that special attention will be given to the condition of underage detainees.
Human rights group Karapatan raised alarm that some of those arrested were not even participants in the protest. Secretary-general Cristina Palabay condemned the crackdown, calling it “reminiscent of the kind of state violence inflicted” during martial law. “Why are people out in the streets? Why are people angry? To penalize them, to put them in jail, to criminalize them, is not the way to go. It’s really blaming the victims instead of addressing and putting forward justice for all,” she said.
Police, meanwhile, insisted that “instigators” were behind the violence. Authorities said charges are being prepared against the detainees and that inciting-to-sedition complaints may also be filed against identified agitators.
