KARAPATAN strongly condemns the violent dispersal of protesters and harassment of photojournalists on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, near the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, as the human rights group warns the Philippine National Police (PNP) against any attempt to obstruct or block protests in the lead-up to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27.
Activists including human rights defenders from KARAPATAN held the Wednesday rally to protest the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila for the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Police forces from the PNP National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) assaulted, battered, and forcibly pushed protesters, disrespected and attempted to arrest a Moro woman leader, and harassed photojournalists covering the protest action.
The PNP claimed that it observed “maximum tolerance” during the protest. The violence inflicted on protesters, however, shows the PNP’s blatant distortion of what actually happened.
Videos taken during the protest clearly showed that police were armed when they confronted protesters. They were also equipped with shields, which they used to batter and forcefully push protesters. Those at the frontlines experienced physical assault as police violently attempted to disperse the demonstration.
This is not maximum tolerance. This is police violence.
The PNP cannot simply sanitize the incident through reckless public statements. The facts on the ground speak for themselves: protesters were battered, shoved with police shields, manhandled, and singled out for arrest.
Among those targeted was Amirah Lidasan of the Moro Christian People’s Alliance, whose hijab was pulled during the dispersal. She was manhandled and singled out for arrest. There were also attempts to place a member of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment in police custody.
Instead of upholding the people’s right to peaceful assembly, police authorities sought to suppress and intimidate protesters. PNP Chief Jose Melencio Nartatez had the gall to deny that police harassment took place, insisting that the area was a “no-rally zone” and citing the prohibition on protests under the jurassic-era law Batas Pambansa 880.
KARAPATAN likewise condemns the harassment and attempted arrest of two respected veteran photojournalists, former Associated Press chief Alberto “Bullit” Marquez and The Manila Times chief of photographers Rene Dilan, who were covering the protest. They were manhandled by the police to stop them from taking photographs of Lidasan’s arrest. Journalists and photojournalists have the right to perform their work without intimidation, harassment, or obstruction. Their harassment is an attack on press freedom and the public’s right to witness and document acts committed by state forces.
The protest was just, legitimate, and necessary.
We were demonstrating our opposition to US intervention and militarism and to the policies being pushed by the US government, foremost of which is the Pax Silica Initiative, amidst the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We were protesting the Philippine government’s continuing subservience to US interests at the expense of Philippine sovereignty and the Filipino people’s welfare.
The people have every right to protest against the US government’s interventionist policies and the Marcos Jr. administration’s continuing alignment with US geopolitical and military interests. At a time when the US continues to assert its military and geopolitical interests in the country and the Asia Pacific region, Filipinos have every reason to question why the Philippine government continues to allow the country to be used as a platform for US strategic interests and military objectives.
The people’s opposition to US intervention is not a threat to national security. It is an exercise of the people’s right to defend national sovereignty. In this case, everywhere is a place for protest and dissent.
The real threat is not the people taking to the streets. The real threat is a government that is mendicant to foreign interests and that responds to legitimate dissent with police batons, shields, and arrests.
Instead of unleashing armed police against protesters, the Marcos Jr. administration should answer the people’s questions: Why does it continue to accommodate US military and geopolitical interests? Why does it allow the Philippines to be dragged into the US agenda of militarization and conflict? Why does it suppress those who oppose it?
KARAPATAN calls on the PNP to stop hiding behind the phrase “maximum tolerance” to justify violent dispersals. No public relations statement can erase the physical assaults witnessed and experienced by protesters.
We demand a full and impartial investigation into the violent dispersal, including the assaults against protesters, the attempted arrest of Lidasan and an environmental activist, and the harassment of photojournalists.
We demand accountability for all police personnel responsible for the violence.
We further call on the Marcos Jr. administration to respect the people’s right to peaceful assembly and dissent and to end the violent suppression of protests against US intervention and militarism.
The people’s right to protest is not subject to the whims of the police. It is a fundamental democratic right.
As the country prepares for the SONA, KARAPATAN warns the PNP: Do not obstruct the people’s right to protest. Do not prevent the people from speaking out. Do not use the police to silence dissent.
We will not be silenced. We will march in the People’s SONA. We will continue to oppose US intervention and militarism. We will continue to defend people’s rights that is under constant attack by state forces. And we will continue to stand with the people in their right to organize, protest, and fight for human rights, justice, and genuine freedom.