KARAPATAN: Justice for Eric Saber, Free All Victims of September 21 Illegal Arrests!
KARAPATAN Public Information
PRESS RELEASE
26 September 2025
References: Maria Sol Taule, KARAPATAN Deputy Secretary General, 09452966916
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 0918-9790580
Here is the links to the press conference this morning:
Part 1: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19nhLKG5R6/
Part 2: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1684chAqu9/
KARAPATAN: Justice for Eric Saber, Free All Victims of September 21 Illegal Arrests!
Human rights alliance KARAPATAN demanded a full and independent investigation into the violent dispersal of the September 21 protests in Manila, the immediate release of all victims of illegal arrest, and accountability from top officials who continue to deny state violence.
“DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and the MPD are lying when they claim that no guns were fired, no teargas used, and that no one died. These are brazen attempts to cover up state crimes,” said Atty. Maria Sol Taule, KARAPATAN deputy secretary general. “We have eyewitnesses, photos, and videos that clearly show police firing live ammunition, unleashing teargas, and torturing protesters — including minors and persons with disability. This is not maximum tolerance but maximum brutality.”
KARAPATAN called for justice for Eric Saber, a construction worker gunned down on the night of September 21.
“Eric had just gotten off Recto station to catch a jeepney when he was shot from behind. His grieving family could not even afford flowers. Why is it always the poor who carry the burden, while senators and politicians swim in billions of stolen public funds? Why, when the poor fight back, are they branded criminals?” Taule recounted.
“Eric was a worker on his way home — killed because the police saw every poor Filipino as an enemy,” Taule added.
The group also condemned the mass illegal arrests. According to MPD records, 216 people were taken, including 91 minors, while other individuals are still being verified. Among those arrested were students, vendors, delivery riders, construction workers, bystanders, and persons with disability.
Lawyers from the NUPL, PILC, and SENTRA confirmed cases of torture, bruises, broken bones, head injuries, and trauma among detainees. Minors were even forced to hurt fellow minors. “Despite being arrested as early as 3:00 p.m. on September 21, many were only brought to inquest on September 23 and 24 — well beyond the 12, 18, or 36-hour limits under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code,” KARAPATAN stressed. “This alone makes the arrests illegal, arbitrary, and a blatant violation of due process.”
The police have filed a litany of fabricated charges — “illegal assembly,” “direct assault,” “resistance and disobedience,” “tumultuous disturbance,” “malicious mischief,” and violations of Batasang Pambansa Blg. 880, the Marcos-era Public Assembly Act long condemned for curtailing the right to protest.
“These cases are harassment suits meant to silence dissent. Many of those arrested were simply exercising their right to free speech and peaceful assembly, while others were ordinary bystanders indiscriminately picked up. Their only supposed ‘crime’ was being poor and being present,” Taule said.
“The September 21 protests laid bare the fascist character of the Marcos Jr. regime — corrupt, plundering, and violently suppressing dissent. We demand: investigate, hold perpetrators accountable, free all victims of illegal arrest, and deliver justice for all victims of state violence, especially Eric Saber,” KARAPATAN concluded.#
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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.