Palace vows ‘justice’ vs groups behind riots
Malacañang on Monday strongly condemned the riots in Manila that marred the otherwise peaceful mass protests on Sunday against government corruption.
Authorities reported a total of 129 police and 76 civilians injured in the violence that erupted near Ayala Bridge and on Recto Avenue leading to Mendiola Bridge, as rioters dressed in black shirts and black cloth masks clashed with police securing these and other entryways to the Palace grounds.
The clash at Recto-Mendiola lasted well into the night on Sunday, with the historic avenue turning into a war zone, as the attackers threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and even human waste at police, ransacked a hotel, torched several vehicles including police motorcycles, and harmed or held up bystanders in sight. A still unidentified man was stabbed dead, according to the Department of Health.
Yet at nearby Luneta and other parts of Metro Manila, protesters denouncing corruption in government held rallies which police described as peaceful despite their indignant mood.
More than 200 people suspected of instigating the riots were arrested, 89 of them minors.
By Monday morning, parents of some of these minors were seen at the Manila Police District (MPD) anxiously seeking their release. A woman speaking to TV reporters wondered how her 13-year-old son became involved in the clashes.
But a 17-year-old who took part in the riots told the Inquirer he joined that melee to exercise his right as a Filipino.
“We saw in the news what is happening—the money being taken from the people,” said Adrian of Tondo, Manila, who only gave his first name. “Aren’t they ashamed of us youth?”
In her press briefing on Monday, Palace press officer Claire Castro went straight to the matter of Sunday’s events, which she described as “a peaceful rally marred by some troublemakers.”
They “were not ralliers who have legitimate aspirations against corruption,” she said, but were intending “to inflict violence, to steal, to burn and to destroy.”
“President Marcos is united with the people in the fight against corruption,” Castro said. “The President himself initiated the investigation into anomalous flood control projects.”
She said Mr. Marcos “is ready to respond to the wishes of the people and continues to respect their human rights.”
“But the administration and the President condemn the exploitation of minors as bandits, by groups hiding their faces behind black masks,” she said. “Black Team, if we can call them such.”
“And the people behind you who exploited you are greedy for power. You should not be allowed to get away with it. You will be prosecuted by justice.”
“All will be held accountable. That is what the President wants for anyone who resorted to violence during Sunday’s peaceful rallies,” Castro said.
Duterte supporters
In that same briefing, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the minors were considered “suspects,” for now, adding that all those arrested may face charges of grave physical injuries to arson, “and we can go as far as sedition.”
He also said “their statement, [which police had also attested to], that they intend to burn the Palace is a seditious act in itself.”
Of the detained minors, 65 were 15 to 17 years old, while 24 were 14 years old and younger, Remulla said.
He said authorities already know which group instigated their actions, but declined to make any further disclosures “until all the interviews and interrogations are done.”
Remulla also cited remarks made at the Liwasang Bonifacio rally also on Sunday by supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte.
One of them using his megaphone called on ralliers to head to Mendiola and “bring your lighters.”
Videos of that rally recorded by the media also showed Duterte’s supporters urging the crowd, bearing placards of “Marcos resign,” to proceed to Recto-Mendiola after their assembly at Liwasang Bonifacio.
Among the injured in the riot at Recto was Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) president Renato Reyes Jr., who was taken to a hospital after being “hit by a stone,” as he recalled that incident on X.
Reyes’ group had just ended its rally at Mendiola, a traditional protest site for activist groups like Bayan, when the rioters appeared and began their looting and destructive spree at Recto.
Despite having no affiliation with that group, Reyes expressed concern over the minors recruited in that incident.
“There are scores of people arrested now, some were just bystanders picked up by the police. Many are minors. Our lawyers and Makabayan representatives are trying to assist them,” he said.
Rapper, lawyer, politician
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. also expressed concern over the involvement of youths in the clash with police, as he called the incident a “national security issue.”
But according to MPD spokesperson Maj. Philipp Ines, “The information we got is that the [rioters] are members of a hip-hop gang… influenced by a so-called rapper personality.”
“But we have not yet validated this. It’s only based on the account of those in our custody,” Ines said.
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said, “I will let [the] PNP do the investigation, but it’s not just a rapper, there’s also a lawyer, and a former Manila City politician.”
“Because [a] few days before, I [received an] intelligence report that there was an initiator or instigator who funded these kids,” Domagoso said. —REPORTS FROM DEXTER CABALZA, FAITH ARGOSINO, JOHN ERIC MENDOZA, KEITH CLORES, GILLIAN VILLANUEVA, LUISA CABATO, CHARIE ABARCA AND PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY
