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192 individuals to face charges after Manila riot; MPD confirms onsite inquest proceedings

Jessie Cruzat

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Inquest for individuals arrested during Sunday’s chaotic protest in Manila was conducted at the MPD headquarters on Tuesday, September 23. “Napag-usapan na dito na lang gawin ‘yong inquest proceedings para ‘yong mga prosecutor na natin ang pupunta rito… kasi nga iniisip natin na napakarami nitong para dalahin sa opisina nila at (inaudible) na magsikip doon at napakarami nating naaresto,” said MPD spokesperson Major Philip Ines.According to data from the Manila City Government, 192 out of the 216 individuals arrested face formal complaints.Among those, 60 are classified as Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL), aged 15 to 17, and were found to have acted with &quot;discernment&quot; based on assessments by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).“Discernment, ibig sabihin alam nila ‘yong kanilang ginagawa at lumabas na ‘yong assessment noon [from DSWD],” Ines explained.In an interview with the ANC on Tuesday, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso vowed accountability for all who took part in the unrest during the September 21 protests.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/22/93-police-officers-injured-113-protesters-arrested-in-violent-september-21-demonstration-0843">95 cops injured, 216 protesters arrested in violent Sept. 21 demonstrations</a></div>Among the possible charges are illegal assembly, direct assault against persons in authority and their agents, and resistance and disobedience to a person in authority.Authorities are also exploring whether additional charges such as arson, malicious mischief, and physical injury may apply.Meanwhile, 25 children at risk — all aged 14 and below — are now under the care of the Manila Social Welfare Office.“I think, they&#x27;re okay. Just to answer directly, they&#x27;re okay now. They are under social welfare, procedural,” said Mayor Moreno.The incident has reignited calls to review the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.Moreno urged lawmakers to consider potential amendments in light of how minors may be used in unlawful activities.“Baka naman, right time. Because time, tumatakbo ang oras, nagbabago ang panahon, at nagiging adventurous ‘yong ibang individual, to utilize a particular age group, age bracket. Because madaling, halimbawa, let&#x27;s just say, madaling magoyo, madaling madala. Baka naman, nanonood ang ating kongreso o senado. How can we learn from this where participants to a mob or riot, chaos, [are] minors, are they doing it on their own, generally, or are they being manipulated?” he added.Meanwhile, some of those detained insist they were merely caught in the chaos and had no intention of causing trouble.“Nagkaroon ng takbuhan. ‘Yong mga nambato tumakbo sa amin kaya nahuli siguro kami sir. Hindi kami nambato… hindi kami tumakbo, hinold lang kami. Hinuli na rin kami, sir…Wala po ‘yong intensyon namin manggulo,” said a 25-year-old male detainee.“Maglalaro po sana ako ng skateboard. Tapos pumunta ako ng Luneta para mag-rally. Hindi namin akalain na may batuhan palang gano’n at gulo dahil sa ibang kabataan… Merong pumunta doon para gustong magkagulo lang,” said another arrestee, aged 20.The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have previously emphasized that the rights of all detainees, especially minors, will be respected throughout the legal process.<div> </div><div>PROTESTS CONTINUE AT MPD GATES</div>Meanwhile, lawyers and relatives of those arrested held protests in front of the MPD headquarters.One of them is 55-year-old Elsie Santos from San Rafael, Bulacan who brought food and clothes for her 27-year old son.According to Santos, she hasn’t spoke to her son, who js person with disability (PWD) with speech impairment, since he was arrested.“Wala po silang masabi sa akin kung ‘yong anak ko ay okay ba. Kumain na ba siya. Sabi nila wala daw instruction sa kanila hanggang ngayon. Ang ginawa nila illegal arrest dahil dampot na lang sila nang dampot,” said Santos.She said her son told her he was only going to watch a band performance in Luneta until she found out that he was arrested.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/21/pnp-anti-corruption-rallies-generally-peaceful-despite-isolated-incidents-2207">PNP: Anti-corruption rallies &#x27;generally peaceful&#x27; despite isolated incidents</a></div>“Sana malaman niya na nandito ako. Naghihintay ako sa kanya para sa paglabas niya… gusto kong makausap ‘yong anak ko… Sana hindi nila sinaktan ang anak ko kasi wala namang ginagawang masama ang anak ko sa gobyerno,” she added.Meanwhile, Karapatan Deputy Secretary General Atty. Maria Sol Taule also believes that the police clearly violated the law in arresting the individuals.“Ang pinaka-concern po sa amin ay wala na po b reason to hold them in this facility, dito sa MPD. Ilang oras na ang nakalipas. Under po sa batas natin we have maximum of 36 hours para i-detain mo ng walang charges ang isang tao,” said Taule.“Nakakagalit po kasi nag-aalala na ng sobra sobra ‘yong mga magulang nila. Ayaw pong papasukin… Sa PNP, sobrang excessive use of force po ‘yan ‘yong ginawa nyo sa mga kabataan. Nakita ko ho na ang daming injured na kabataan,” she added.According to the MPD, they understand the appeal of the relatives of those arrested, but they emphasized that they will only be allowed to talk to the arrested individuals once the investigation and documentation are completed.“Makakaasa kayo na hindi natin pababayaan ang mga nasa kustodiya natin. With regard sa mga pagkain ipo-provide po natin ‘yan. Pati ‘yong medical na attention ibinibigay po natin yan. Meron po tayong mga medical personnel na naka-assign sa MPD na tumitingin po sa kanila,” added Ines.

According to data from the Manila City Government, 192 out of the 216 individuals arrested face formal complaints.

According to data from the Manila City Government, 192 out of the 216 individuals arrested face formal complaints.

192 suspects face charges after Manila protest riot

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192 suspects face charges after Manila protest riot

Jessie Cruzat,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 23, 2025 08:11 PM PHT

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