(UPDATE) INTERIOR Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday vowed to pursue criminal charges against rioters who marred Sunday’s anti-corruption rallies, which drew up to 100,000 peaceful protesters in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.
Remulla described the rioters as “anarchists” who disrupted what had been massive but peaceful demonstrations against corruption in flood control projects.
He likened the disturbances to violent protests in Nepal and Indonesia, and warned that those responsible would face the full force of the law.
The Palace said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the pertinent agencies to investigate and charge all parties who were tainted with violence in last weekend’s peaceful anti-corruption demonstrations.
“Peaceful rallies infiltrated by a few who wanted to cause trouble. Everyone will be held accountable. That is what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants for all those who used violence during the peaceful rally that took place on Sunday,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said in Filipino at a press conference.
The Palace condemned the violent acts committed by some parties it earlier branded as “thugs” at the height of mass protests against corruption held in different parts of Metro Manila.
Castro reiterated that the President is one with the citizens who demand accountability for the massive corruption surrounding anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects, and fully supported the people’s right for their grievances to be heard.
“But this administration and the President condemn the use of young people by groups that hide their faces behind black masks. They are not rallyists with a legitimate cause against corruption, but only commit violence, steal, burn and destroy,” she said.
216 arrested
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said 216 people — including minors — were arrested after clashes erupted at Ayala Bridge, Mendiola, and Claro M. Recto Avenue.
The detainees face charges ranging from arson and physical injuries to sedition, after some were heard chanting threats to burn Malacañang Palace.
Some 48 of those injured — including two police officers — were sent to the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center.
Ninety-three police officers suffered injuries from stone-throwing and Molotov cocktails, while rioters also torched a van and motorcycles and looted a nearby hotel.
“The protest was about a better country, not about anarchy, and these people are anarchists,” Remulla said in a media briefing.
He stressed that minors will not be automatically spared from prosecution, though the Department of Social Welfare and Development will handle their cases.
“Those who threw Molotov cocktails at the police may be charged with frustrated homicide. We consider that an intent to kill,” he added.
While authorities confirmed “zero gunshot casualties,” Remulla addressed reports of a stabbing death linked to the rally.
He said the Department of Health had reported one fatality, an unidentified man, but police on the ground had not recorded such an incident during the clashes.
“If this was a stabbing, it did not come from the police. We will investigate if it was rally-related,” he said.
Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso denied online rumors of gunshots and casualties, saying, “Don’t believe it. If many had died, then surely the media would have already seen it.”
Domagoso believed that those claiming that there were fatalities were among those who attacked the police.
“I feel like those who are saying that they were stormed by the police, that someone died — these are the ones who caused the trouble. And now they’re afraid,” he said.
Remulla also revealed that intelligence units had anticipated attempts to provoke violence and even storm Malacañang.
“We knew they would try. That’s why additional security forces were deployed around the Palace,” he said. “The President encouraged peaceful rallies, and he listened to the grievances, but we will not allow anarchy to prevail over the government.”
‘Bring lighters to Mendiola’
The DILG chief said most of those arrested were from poor communities in Manila, with investigators still determining whether they were recruited or paid to join the violent actions.
He cited intercepted chatter from a rally at Liwasang Bonifacio, where an organizer reportedly told participants to bring lighters to Mendiola.
“That was a confirmation of intent to burn the Palace,” he said.
Officials also linked the unrest to online activity. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) reported that 19 government websites were defaced or disrupted in cyberattacks over the weekend, though no personal data was compromised. Four of the affected sites were national agencies, with the rest belonging to local governments.
“They organized online, using digital platforms that translated into violence on the streets,” DICT officials said.
Remulla added that investigators are not ruling out terrorism charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act, depending on the outcome of evidence gathering.
“We are studying whether these violent actions, including the burning of vehicles and assaults on police, can be classified as terrorism,” he said.
PNP officials said security around vital installations, including Malacañang, will remain on heightened alert, with more police presence on Metro Manila streets in the coming days.
Plainclothes officers were already deployed during Sunday’s rallies to monitor potential threats, while security measures at transport hubs such as the LRT have been reinforced.
Looting and destruction of property are also under investigation. Local governments were directed to provide assessments, with initial reports citing the burning of a van and two motorcycles, as well as the raiding of a motel where cash was stolen from a vault.
Remulla maintained that the government distinguishes between peaceful protesters and those who incited violence.
“The vast majority came to voice their grievances, and the President listened. But those who engaged in violence will be held accountable,” he said.
Hip-hop gangsters
The Philippine National Police said they have received reports that the protesters who ran riot and ransacked the length of Recto Avenue in the city during the Trillion Peso March on Sunday were hip-hop gangsters.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday, Manila Police District-Public Information (MPD-PIO) Chief Philip Ines said the teenagers wearing black shirts and black masks were the ones who started the commotion.
The PNP said the overall rally against massive corruption was peaceful except for the clashes at Ayala Bridge, Mendiola, and Recto Avenue, where the masked men burned a container van, injured police, threw Molotov cocktails, and even ransacked establishments, including a mall and a hotel in the area.
Ines said the rioters were even armed with wrapped human waste, which they threw at police officers.
The commotion was caught on video and went viral on social media.
Ines said the investigation is still ongoing but their initial intel was that the black-shirted youngsters were hip-hop rappers coming from various parts of Metro Manila.
The PNP said they are still verifying the total damages incurred by the hotel.
Activists hit police response
Various activists from different organizations staged a protest on Monday in front of the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters, demanding accountability for what they believe are “arbitrary arrests” and demanding the immediate release of detained protesters, which included minors and persons with disabilities.
Francheska Reyes of Gabriela Youth said instead of protecting the people, the police chose to use violence “to suppress the legitimate demands of the people.”
“It is unacceptable to treat the detained protesters as if they were ‘hardened criminals’ — to justify violently beating them or pressing charges against them,” Reyes said about rioters who threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at the police.
Domagoso said it was not protesters who organized the anti-corruption rally who were behind all the violence, claiming that he received an initial report that the man behind the violence was a former politician.
He also contradicted MPD reports by saying none of the rioters were from the city of Manila.
In an interview with The Manila Times, one of the rioters on Sunday, who called himself “V,” said it was his first time protesting.
He said he was not affiliated with any organization and that he came to the protest alone.
When asked why he attended the protest, he said, “I hope the system changes and that we hold the corrupt official accountable this time. All of those politicians are being too ‘out of touch’ with reality.”
The human rights group Karapatan, meanwhile, hailed the success of the “Trillion Peso March,” saying the nationwide and global rallies on Sept. 21 showed Filipinos’ outrage over corruption and repression under the Marcos administration.
Karapatan also condemned what it described as state violence and harassment by the Philippine National Police, which they likened to the disproportionate and excessive force used to quell protests during martial law.
