Police violence, torture cases surface as new anti-corruption protest looms
(Trigger warning: Violent description)
MANILA – “My whole body had been subjected to beating by three police officers while being dragged from Jollibee to a blue tent,” Luke Malimban told Bulatlat in Filipino. He was one of the young people unlawfully arrested and detained during the major anti-corruption protest in Mendiola.
On that day, Malimban, a development worker, was asking the children in the scene to withdraw, to ensure that they would not be harmed amid the ongoing tension in Mendiola. Afterwards, he went to the police to return the police equipment he found during the protest but he was violently seized and arrested.
Malimban said that many of the people dragged to the blue tent sustained injuries, which for him, is a clear violation of the supposed police protocol of maintaining maximum tolerance. “Not a single person arrived in the blue tent without a bloody face and wounds… we are not fighting back, but the police were persistent,” he recounted.
Such accounts of torture corroborated a new research by Amnesty International, further exposing harrowing testimonies by the protesters.
“Victims have described how police punched, kicked and hit people – including children – with batons as they were arrested, with appalling ill-treatment continuing in detention,” said Jerrie Abella, Amnesty International Regional Campaigner, in a statement.
Abella emphasized that the disturbing evidence, showing police’s unnecessary and excessive force against the protesters on September 21 is a “mockery” of the Philippine government’s repeated claims of “maximum tolerance.”
Victim-survivors narratives
“Police in uniform joined in to punch, kick and hit me with their batons. I briefly lost consciousness but woke up to pain as they dragged me by my hair,” Rey*, 20, told Amnesty International.
He recounted that three men in plainclothes, who later handed him to uniformed police officers, grabbed and punched him in the face as he tried to run away while holding a protest placard.
The police also accused him of taking part in violence that killed two officers and the beating only stopped when one officer informed them that members of the media were approaching. There were no police killed during the protest.
A 25-year old bystander, Omar*, was arrested by the police and accused him of causing violence and attacking the police. Other officers punched and hit him with batons, and he was then held in a tent with around 14 other people. He recalled that one of them “had blood dripping from a head wound” after being hit with a gun by a police officer.
Nineteen-year-old Ali*, arrested alongside his relatives Ahmed*, 17, and Yusuf*, 18, said the three were detained while returning to the construction site where they work.
According to Ali, police officers stopped them without explanation and later confined them to a tent, accusing them of assaulting law enforcement officers. “The police took us to a tent where they hit us with their batons,” he recounted. “They punched us in the face and kicked us in the torso before detaining us.”
Two other individuals, Greg* and Ryan*, aged 18 and 22 respectively, were arrested and brought by the police to a blue tent in Mendiola where the beatings happened.
These testimonies confirmed further the statements of human rights lawyers who responded to the Sept. 21, 2025 arrests.
In a previous Bulatlat story, first responder lawyers from the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), Public Interest Law Center (PILC), Karapatan, at Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (Sentra) confirmed that there were indications of torture – bruises, fractures, head injuries, and trauma – among those arrested. Minors were even forced to hurt fellow minors.
Karapatan legal counsel Maria Sol Taule noted that the “notorious blue tent” served as a temporary holding area for the arrested. Their investigation pointed out that while it showed no direct sign of police affiliation, the area appeared to be under the supervision of police.
Malimban recalled that there were two blue tents. One looked like a pantry while the other one was a storage of police equipment. Victims were dragged to the blue tents as their holding area, before all of them were brought to the Manila Police District.
“They did not facilitate medical assistance to us despite wounds and signs of violence,” Malimban said. “I know I should not expect anything from the police. But it is frustrating to experience it firsthand that they do not hesitate to inflict violence.”
Authorities, through Secretary of Interior and Local Government (SILG) Jonvic Remulla, said in a previous press conference that there was no casualty during the protest.
On the same day of the press conference, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that there were 48 individuals injured during the anti-corruption protest. Six patients were treated for varying injuries such as a cut on the foot, eye trauma, head trauma, arm vein injury, gunshot wound and severe arm laceration.
NUPL also reported that an individual underwent surgery for a fractured jaw at Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital.
The PNP also failed to report the death of construction worker Eric Saber, which eyewitness blamed on PNP’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT).
Read: Government lies about the violence in Mendiola protest
Bulatlat also previously reported how the arrest of 91 children is dubbed as a “large-scale children’s rights violations.”
Many of those arrested were detained beyond the maximum 36 hours of detention allowed for warrantless arrests in the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
‘Inhumane’ detention
“In Baseco detention center, about 70 to 75 persons, including me, were forced inside a detention room comparable to the classroom size in a public elementary school,” Malimban said.
He recalled that they are forced to sleep in standing position because of the congestion, in an uncemented floor with moss without sunlight.
In another detention facility in Barbosa, while the space was slightly tolerable, some persons deprived of liberty were forced to sleep in a comfort room, about five of them compressed in a standing position.
It took three days for Malimban to at least change his clothes: full of sweat, traces of water cannon and tear gas, sleep deprived, with no food to eat until their visit came through.
“The conditions were inhumane. It is not even suitable for animals,” Malimban added.
Congestion in the Philippine jails remains extremely high. The average congestion rate as of May 2025 is almost 300 percent. This overcrowding causes various humanitarian consequences.
The International Committee on Red Cross (ICRC) noted that overcrowding means persons deprived of liberties have limited movement, sleeping spaces, and ventilation. This also means inadequate access to water, sanitary facilities and healthcare– causing disease-causing bacteria and viruses to spread faster.
Cover-up
Taule said that there are brazen attempts to cover up the crimes. “We have eyewitnesses, photos, and videos that clearly show police firing live ammunition, unleashing teargas, and torturing protesters – including minors and persons with disability. This is not maximum tolerance but maximum brutality.”
Read: Groups demand probe on ‘cover-up and police brutality’
The casualties recorded by the lawyers and rights groups include arbitrary arrest, detention, and torture of 216 individuals, including 91 minors, and two deaths, including bystander Eric Saber. The Philippine National Police, meanwhile, denied the allegations of torture and abuse.
The use of law
Beyond the reported cases of torture and ill-treatment, the PNP – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed criminal charges against 97 individuals over the September 21 protest.
The charges include Articles 136, 139, and 142 of the Revised Penal Code which cover conspiracy and proposal to commit rebellion or insurrection, sedition, and inciting to sedition.
“They’re going after the people who are vocal against the issue of corruption. But there is no action being done against those [government officials and contractors] implicated in the ongoing corruption scandal in the country,” said Taule in a separate interview with Bulatlat.
Read: Beyond the Philippines: Right to protest under fire in many countries
The charges persist despite earlier complaints being dismissed for lack of evidence. Lawyers from NUPL, PILC, SENTRA, and PLACE also condemned the continued filing of charges against the activists, many of whom are students.
The lawyers also expressed their indignation to the bail of P48,000 (816.96 USD) per accused, which they deem excessive for students and part-time workers who are already financially burdened.
“The filing of such charges not only weaponizes the criminal justice system against dissent but also seeks to intimidate ordinary citizens from exercising their constitutional freedoms of speech, expression, and assembly,” the lawyer groups said, calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to immediately review and withdraw the charges.
On top of the cases, student leaders from Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and the University of the Philippines (UP) received subpoenas from the PNP: Tiffany Faith Brillante, Jacob Baluyot, Joaquin Buenaflor, and Aldrin Kitsune. They deem the issuance of subpoena as a form of intimidation to their continuous clamor against corruption.
Read: Student leaders push back against oppression
Calls for investigation
Due to the cases of police violence, the Amnesty International calls on the Philippine government to promptly, impartially, and effectively investigate the unlawful use of force by the Manila Police District (MPD) and all allegations of torture.
“Philippine authorities have an obligation to maintain law and order but also to respect and protect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Charges against people arrested solely for exercising these rights must be dropped,” Abella said.
The group urged the Philippine authorities to also adhere to the international standards, including the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The principles outlined that law enforcement officials should apply non-violent means as far as possible.
The use of force and firearms, in unavoidable circumstances, shall only be considered lawful if the authorities exercise restraint and act in proportion to the offence, minimize damage and injury, ensure the assistance and medical aid of affected persons, and ensure that relatives or close friends are notified at earliest possible moment.
Progressive lawmakers under Makabayan bloc also filed House Resolution No. 305 urging investigation into the police brutality, reports of torture, and other human rights violations concerning the September 21 protest.
Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Louise Co, and ACT Teachers Party-list Antonio Tinio also urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to conduct an independent investigation. (RVO)
Disclosure: Names of the victims are withheld for security. Malimban has agreed to be identified in the story.
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