KARAPATAN condemned the police harassment and manhandling of a journalist covering yesterday’s violent dispersal of a protest camp-out by farmers and called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to conduct an immediate investigation on the emerging pattern of heightened suppression of protests.
The farmers led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas were in the process of setting up their protest camp at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) when police elements barged in to disperse them. Bulatlat journalist Aaron Ernest Cruz, who was covering the dispersal, was dragged away and manhandled by the police, even as he repeatedly showed them his press identification card. In the process, Cruz’s shirt was ripped and his bag went missing.
Three days prior, the farmers had been driven out of their protest camp at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and stayed at the University of the Philippines Student Union Building before transferring to the DAR.
“The harassment and manhandling of Cruz is reminiscent of another incident on July 22, 2026 when photojournalist Bullit Marquez was harassed and threatened with arrest while he was taking pictures during a protest action during the visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay.
“It is an emerging pattern of several incidents, including those where paralegals ensuring the rights of persons arrested during protests have themselves been unjustly arrested,” she added. “The latest incident occurred at a lightning rally on September 10, 2026 when five paralegals were arrested by the police on trumped-up assault charges. Two of them, including KARAPATAN’s paralegal, were arrested at a police station while accompanying a lawyer who wanted to check on those who had been arrested earlier.”
“The Marcos Jr. regime’s suppression of the people’s right to protest is on the rise in the run-up to US Pres. Donald Trump’s visit in November,” noted Palabay. “These harassment incidents of journalists, paralegals, and those exercising the right to protest are setting the tone for the maximum intolerance expected during Trump’s visit.”
“KARAPATAN calls on the Commission on Human Rights to investigate these disturbing incidents that show multiple violations on the people’s right to protest, as well as the rights and freedoms of journalists and paralegals,” concluded Palabay.