The Philippines-Palestine Friendship Association (PPFA) condemns in the strongest terms the brutal dispersals carried out by the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the September 21 nationwide protests against corruption and tyranny. Over 200 youth protesters, including minors, were violently arrested in Manila alone.
“This is an unmistakable display of state terror”, said Dr. Delen dela Paz, PPFA President.
On the 53rd anniversary of Martial Law declared by dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Filipinos took to the streets to mark a legacy of tyranny. His son, Bongbong Marcos Jr. continues his legacy of plunder masked as “progress,” and repression dressed up as “unity”.
At Mendiola, that mask was ripped off. Police armed with batons and shields savagely assaulted youth protesters, arresting at least 216—most of them minors. Similar dispersals at Ayala Bridge exposed the same cruelty. “This was not “crowd control”; it was state terror in broad daylight”, dela Paz added.
Over 200,000 marched nationwide, fueled by rage over billions plundered in bogus “flood control projects,” the Maharlika scam, and Sara Duterte’s brazen confidential funds.
And this time, the police were not just armed with batons. They carried IWI X95 assault rifles manufactured by Israel Weapon Industries, designed for urban suppression, and standard-issue for the Israeli occupation forces. The same rifles that enforce genocide in Palestine now aimed at Filipino youth in Mendiola.
Since 2019, the Philippines has funneled billions into Israeli arms deals, buying drones, missiles, artillery, and rifles like the X95. These contracts enrich war profiteers complicit in genocide abroad while importing their machinery of repression into our own streets.
