‘Overkill’ | Groups slam police arrests of activists during SONA 2026 protest

By ELISHA BEATRICE UMALI

MANILA – Various progressive groups and activists criticized the arrest of artists, rappers and other activists during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) ng Bayan 2026 on July 27 along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City before Marcos Jr.’s penultimate SONA.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) arrested more or less 51 protesters “due to vandalism and wearing of balaclavas.” Among the arrested is former Panday Sining national chairperson, Hiphop United Against Corruption member and Fliptop rap artist Vitrum.

Activist art collective Junkie Rebels Crew stated the arrested protesters are affiliated with the Junkie Rebels Crew, Hiphop United Against Corruption, Skaters United, Vandals United and Defend the Hood. There were also members of bands Walktrip and MATOKI, and rappers from Kuwagagohan, Raplines and Banghayan. 

Youth cultural group Vandals United stated that of those arrested, three are paralegals and 13 are minors. “According to witnesses, they were arrested for wearing black with facial covers, even if they were just bystanders,” the group added in Filipino. 

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Secretary General Mong Palatino calls this arrest an “arbitrary action of the police.” 

“It sets a bad, dangerous precedent. They conducted the arrest in the middle of the protest. Even police protocols and the law prohibits it. They call it vandalism, our youth have every right to express protest through graffiti. The reported graffiti ‘Meralco Sindikato’ is [a] message that reflects public outrage. We demand immediate release of the 51 young activists,” Palatino said in a statement to Bulatlat.

Several graffiti artists wrote ‘Meralco sindikato’ graffiti art along Commonwealth Avenue as a form of protest during the 2026 SONA. Photo credit to Vandals United’s Facebook page

“The youth are affirming that there is nothing wrong with joining protests along with the use of public spaces to express the citizen’s calls,” said youth group Anakbayan in Filipino. The organization also called for the immediate release of Vitrum and the other arrested youth. 

Meanwhile, Southern Tagalog protesters were prohibited from marching along Commonwealth Avenue in participation with the SONA ng Bayan, which led to an altercation between the police and demonstrators, , UP Los Baños student paper Perspective reported.  Earlier today, the PNP also blocked said protesters from joining other delegates of the mobilization. 

The PNP deployed around 22,000 police across Metro Manila, with an estimated 10,000 of these law enforcements stationed in Quezon City where Marcos Jr.’s SONA took place.

In a Facebook post, Bayan President Renato Reyes Jr. called this response an overkill. “What the PNP and the Marcos regime did is not ‘maximum tolerance’ but maximum perwisyo and maximum panunupil,” Reyes said in Filipino. (RVO)

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