By Dulce Amor Rodriguez
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Before the police dragged young protesters by the hair, before batons cracked against ribs inside the notorious blue tent in Mendiola, Vitrum, a convener of Alyansa Laban sa Korapsyon at Brutalidad ng Kapulisan (AKAB), already knew what pushed him to the streets on Sept. 21—stories of billions stolen from the people, flood control funds unaccounted for, and communities that remained underwater despite years of promises.
He did not suffer the beatings that others endured that day, but he carries the weight of their bruises in his fight. As survivors recounted torture, unlawful arrests and inhumane detention, Vitrum said the corruption that pushed people to protest is the same system that now uses police power to silence those demanding accountability. “Even with the repression and arrests, this is where we find our voice,” he told Bulatlat.
For him and the AKAB, backing down is not an option—not after what unfolded in Mendiola, and not while the corruption they protested remains unaddressed.
Protesters blocked amid inhumane detention
On Nov. 30, as thousands gathered nationwide for another anti-corruption mobilization, protesters in the capital, particularly in Luneta, marched toward Mendiola, only to be blocked by a police barricade. Behind them was what appeared to be an intermodal container. Protesters chanted, “PNP, protektor ng korap!” — a phrase born not only from frustration with unpunished corruption, but from the memory of violence many bore after Sept. 21.
Those memories are painful and, for some, still open wounds.
Witnesses and rights groups documented beatings, unlawful arrests, and torture. Development worker Luke Malimban told Bulatlat that police struck him while dragging him into a makeshift detention tent after the rally—a place many have since dubbed the “blue tent.” He said no one arrived there unscathed: “Not a single person arrived in the blue tent without a bloody face and wounds,” he recalled.
Others arrested that day described how men in plainclothes punched, kicked, and baton-whipped them, and how uniformed officers later continued the violence during detention. Amnesty International documented the testimonies, calling the abuses, even against minors, “appalling ill-treatment,” and demanded impartial investigation.
Read: Police violence, torture cases surface as new anti-corruption protest looms
In the view of many affected, the barricades on Nov. 30 were more than concrete and shields, they symbolized a system that protects those who loot public funds, while brutalizing those who demand transparency. The chant “PNP, protektor ng korap” echoed not just anger, but memory of tents soaked in blood, of children detained without cause, of injustice that remains unpunished.
Weaponizing the law
The violence was followed by criminal charges. The Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) filed cases against 97 individuals, accusing them of conspiracy to commit rebellion or insurrection, sedition, and inciting to sedition under Articles 136, 139, and 142 of the Revised Penal Code.
Lawyers noted that earlier complaints had already been dismissed for lack of evidence.
Human rights lawyer Maria Sol Taule said authorities consistently target those vocal about corruption while those implicated in fund anomalies face no public accountability. “They’re going after the people who speak out,” she said. “But there is no action against those involved in the corruption issue.”
Taule explained that many cases had been “referred for further investigation,” a clear indication that evidence was lacking. Yet police revived these cases and filed them again, even against bystanders detained during the chaos.
She also warned of the danger of escalating charges. “They are trying to prove that students were leaders of the rally so they can hook them under the Public Assembly Act or even attempt to connect them to more serious offenses,” she said.
Read: Beyond the Philippines: Right to protest under fire in many countries
Vitrum witnessed this firsthand. Some of AKAB’s members who were arrested on Sept. 21 continue to receive subpoenas. “Even after the protest, the police won’t stop. They keep elevating the cases,” he said.
Why AKAB refuses to be silenced
For AKAB, the crackdown only affirmed why organizing is necessary.
Vitrum said corruption has long shaped the daily struggles of ordinary workers—soaring inflation, flood-prone communities, lack of public services, and health and transport systems drained by theft. “People cannot access the services meant for them,” he said.
He pointed out that even after the violence of Sept. 21, no public officials or contractors linked to the alleged anomalies have been held accountable. Meanwhile, protesters face fabricated charges.
“They call us agitators,” he said. “But they are the real cause of the crisis—they are the corrupt, they are the violent ones.”
Vitrum said AKAB will continue organizing forums, solidarity nights and mobilizations because silence only emboldens those in power. “We are all we have. We are the ones who must corner the plunderers,” he said.
Taule said the repression against anti-corruption protesters stems from the state’s attempt to protect a system that benefits the powerful. She warned that the pattern is clear: arrests, fabricated cases, suppression of rallies, and demonization of students.
“The current system is desperately trying to maintain the status quo,” she said. “This is why it’s crucial for people to come together to resist fascism.”
For Taule, the right to protest is not only protected by law, it is a duty. “It is not wrong to join protests. It is our responsibility,” she said.
Despite the torture allegations, unlawful arrests, inhumane detention and criminalization of dissent, AKAB says the protests will continue.
Vitrum believes the movement will grow, not shrink. “The more they do this repression, the more our ranks will thicken,” he said. “The anger will only grow.”
From Mendiola to communities battered by corruption, AKAB vows to continue the fight because it is necessary.
As Vitrum put it, “Dito kami nakahahanap ng boses.”
Here, in protest and collective action, he said, the people reclaim what corruption and state violence have long tried to steal—their power. (RVO)
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