Joint Statement on the Continued Filing of Baseless Charges Against the September 21 Protesters
We call on the Department of Justice to immediately review and withdraw these baseless charges and to uphold the constitutional rights of the accused. We likewise urge civil society organizations, human rights groups, and the public to monitor these cases and stand in solidarity with those being persecuted for exercising their democratic freedoms.
November 11, 2025
NUPL
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers is a nationwide voluntary association of human rights lawyers in the Philippines, committed to the defense, protection, and promotion of human rights, especially of the poor and the oppressed.

We, lawyers from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), Public Interest Law Center (PILC), Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA), and Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center (PLACE), strongly condemn the continued filing of charges against nine individuals, mostly students, who joined the September 21, 2025 protest against corruption. These charges persist despite the earlier complaints being dismissed for lack of evidence. Meanwhile, those behind the corrupt flood control projects—the very wrongdoing that sparked the protest—continue to evade accountability.

The fact that the case was initially referred for further investigation, and that no new evidence was presented by the complaining police personnel, underscores the lack of basis for the charges. Despite the absence of probable cause, much less any reasonable certainty of conviction, their cases were nevertheless filed in court.

Worse, police alleged that the supposed disturbance was carried out by armed individuals, thereby unjustly increasing both the imposable penalty and the amount of bail to ₱48,000 per accused. This amount is grossly excessive for the students and part-time workers among those arrested, who are already financially burdened.

This violates the constitutional safeguard against excessive bail, enshrined under Article III, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution. The filing of such charges not only weaponizes the criminal justice system against dissent but also seeks to intimidate ordinary citizens from exercising their constitutional freedoms of speech, expression, and assembly.

We call on the Department of Justice to immediately review and withdraw these baseless charges and to uphold the constitutional rights of the accused. We likewise urge civil society organizations, human rights groups, and the public to monitor these cases and stand in solidarity with those being persecuted for exercising their democratic freedoms.

No one should be criminalized for standing up against corruption.

References:

Atty. Josalee S. Deinla
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers
+63 917 431 6396

Atty. Rachel F. Pastores
Public Interest Law Center
+63 927 921 9539

Atty. Zoe Caballero
Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo
+63 976 302 1682

Atty. Vicente Jaime Topacio
Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center
+63 998 866 3657

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