MANILA — Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) has accused local and national authorities of covering up police brutality following the arrest of youth protesters in Manila on September 21.

“The prolonged detention of youth protesters in Manila is intended to cover up police brutality in responding to the melee in Mendiola and Ayala Bridge on September 21. Injuries, some serious, inflicted on those arrested, and reported torture of some of those in police custody, are clearly behind the withholding of legal and health services to the detainees and even their immediate access to their families,” BAYAN said in a statement.

Lawyers and paralegal volunteers said several young individuals were arrested for wearing black t-shirts or for observing the unrest in Mendiola and surrounding areas. Some detainees reportedly suffered physical injuries while in police custody, with one protester requiring jaw surgery at a hospital.

“These are the testimonies that authorities wanted to suppress or distort by preventing families and lawyers from visiting the arrested protesters inside the police stations of Manila,” BAYAN said.

The group alleged that authorities disseminated disinformation to cover up police abuses and delayed the release of protesters who could counter claims that police exercised maximum tolerance during the dispersal. BAYAN pointed to “numerous videos circulating on social media” showing what it described as a disproportionate police response, including the use of teargas and guns.

“We demand accountability for the human rights abuses perpetrated by the police. Local and national officials should be held accountable too for fabricating lies, imposing a news blackout, and possible tampering of evidence of police brutality,” BAYAN said.

BAYAN criticized officials for allegedly demonizing the youth protesters, some of whom they said were labeled as terrorists. The group said that, while there may have been a few agitators, the police response was “unacceptable and condemnable,” reflecting bias against the poor and complicity in protecting corrupt officials.

“We call for the immediate release and withdrawal of charges against the youth who protested in Manila. We call for more protests against large-scale corruption under the Marcos Jr government in light of new damaging testimonies confirming the delivery of kickbacks to politicians,” BAYAN said.

The group urged that those responsible for corruption be held accountable, including the “masterminds and beneficiaries of entrenched corruption occupying the highest positions in government.”