KARAPATAN: Stop scapegoating activists, hold corrupt officials accountable
KARAPATAN Public Information
PRESS RELEASE
May 25, 2026
Reference: Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general, 09173162831
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580
KARAPATAN: Stop scapegoating activists, hold corrupt officials accountable
KARAPATAN recently slammed the malicious and absurd reports alluding to “three activist groups” allegedly behind the violent incidents during the September 21, 2026 anti-corruption rally in Manila.
“Such baseless and contorted allegations seem to villify legitimate dissent, while diverting public attention from the issues of massive government corruption and the violent dispersal resulting in grave violations committed against protesters and civilians on that day,” said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay.
“This despicable attempt to pin the blame on activist organizations follows a familiar pattern of red-tagging and disinformation aimed at criminalizing the exercise of rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association,” she added.
KARAPATAN stressed that “numerous accounts and testimonies point instead to police brutality and the torture of the more than 200 arrested individuals while in police custody.”
The human rights group further stated that it received reports from several of those arrested that police officers repeatedly visited their residences after the incident. “Such acts have caused further fear and anxiety among those arrested and their families,” Palabay said.
“The government should stop manufacturing narratives to gaslight those who genuinely pursue accountability for the billions of funds pocketed by Marcos Jr. and his cohorts,” she said.
KARAPATAN noted that months since the protest, many public officials implicated in the various ghost projects and corruption scandals have remained untouchable and are scot-free from any prosecution.
“This glaring disparity demonstrates how the machinery of the State is being used not against those who plundered the country’s coffers, but against those who demand transparency, accountability, and justice,” Palabay said.
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publi...@karapatan.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------
#1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District
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.