The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) received confirmation that those arrested during the September 21, 2025 protests—who only underwent inquest proceedings yesterday before Fiscal Lester Jay Allan Flores II—have been ordered released by the Office of the City Prosecutor, Manila.

Lawyers from NUPL are in Manila Police District Headquarters, Police Station 2 (Moriones), Police Station 4 (Balik-Balik), and Police Station 14 (Barbosa) now to assist those who are due for release.

This development underscores that their detention since September 21 clearly violated Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, which limits warrantless detention to thirty-six (36) hours.

While this is welcome news for some of the arrested individuals and their families, including those assisted by NUPL, the majority remain unjustly behind bars.

NUPL reiterates its urgent call for the release of ALL those arrested during the September 21 protests, including those belatedly subjected to inquest only on September 23. The government’s persistence in keeping them in custody, in open defiance of Article 125, is far more than a procedural lapse—it strikes at the very foundation of constitutional freedoms. The guarantee of liberty enshrined in the Bill of Rights is fundamental, and to permit detention beyond the lawful period is to render these constitutional protections hollow. ###

Reference:
Atty. Josalee S. Deinla
NUPL Secretary General
+639174316396