Rights group denounces #SONA51 arrests
KARAPATAN Public Information
PRESS RELEASE
28 July 2026
Reference: Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general, 09173162831
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580
Rights group denounces #SONA51 arrests
KARAPATAN strongly condemned the illegal arrest of at least 51 individuals, including 12 minors, during the rallies held yesterday along Commonwealth Avenue on the occasion of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA).
At around 11:30 AM yesterday, elements of the Philippine National Police attacked the ranks of rallyists near Feria Road corner Commonwealth Avenue and arrested individuals wearing black shirts. Many of those arrested were youth, some of them minors. They were brought to different police stations in Quezon City before being transferred to Camp Karingal.
Many, if not most, of those arrested were manhandled, pinned to the ground, and physically assaulted by the police. Also, the police who made the arrests have no body-worn cameras. Police also attempted to arrest an elderly farmer, a survivor of abduction, who was present at the rally.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the illegal arrest of the 51 protesters, and demand accountability for the violent actions of the Philippine National Police yesterday. The police’s actions constitute a direct attack on the people’s right to peaceful assembly and a blatant violation of existing protocols governing police operations during public assemblies,” KARAPATAN Secretary General Cristina Palabay said.
KARAPATAN also received information that some of those arrested were merely watching the rally from the sidelines.
“All 51 arrests were illegal and warrantless. The police conducted arbitrary and indiscriminate arrests, including of young people who were merely wearing black shirts and who were watching the rally. The police cannot simply round up people, including minors, without warrants and then justify these arrests by invoking the need to maintain order,” Palabay said.
The group said that the mass arrests bear similarities to those carried out during the September 21 protests, which PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez himself previously cited in relation to the police response to protesters.
The group also said that the police clearly violated Batas Pambansa Blg. 880, or the Public Assembly Act of 1985, a law that police authorities themselves routinely invoke to justify their actions against protesters and rallies. The rally held yesterday had a permit, making the police’s mass arrests and violent crackdown even more glaring violations of the protesters’ right to peaceful assembly.
“Namimihasa na itong PNP na ito sa pandarahas at pang-aaresto ng mga nagpoprotesta. The police have the gall to repeatedly invoke BP 880, yet flagrantly violated the very same law yesterday. In their violent crackdown on peaceful protesters, the police showed no recognition or respect for the people’s right to peaceful assembly. They cannot weaponize BP 880 against protesters while disregarding its clear mandate to respect and protect their rights,” Palabay said.
The police likewise used disproportionate and unnecessary force, as evidenced by the violent manhandling, pinning to the ground, and physical assault of protesters during yesterday’s protests, Palabay added.
All those arrested were brought to Camp Karingal last night, with some reportedly set to undergo inquest proceedings this morning.
KARAPATAN calls for the immediate release of all 51 individuals illegally arrested during yesterday’s SONA rallies and demands accountability from the police officers responsible for the violence, illegal arrests, and other human rights violations committed against protesters.
“As Marcos Jr. spewed lies in his SONA, the violence unleashed by his government against the people was on full display outside. All the more, it is the people’s right to protest and condemn this government for the suffering it continues to inflict on the Filipino people,” Palabay said. #
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign. It was established in 1995.