As demonstrators at the US Embassy on October 19 started to step back after a tension with the police who suddenly started to push them back, vehicle No. 145 of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) suddenly accelerated in reverse running over several of the protesters. A youth activist who was hit upfront and fell rolled under the vehicle when it accelerated forward and was almost ran over in the head. The van rampaged over and over until the protesters, clearly badly hurt and limping, cleared out. It was a horrible scene, almost unbelievable.
Watch the video here:
The police van’s driver was identified as PO3 Franklin Kho.
It was down to the last speaker and some journalists were waiting for the last photo op of flag burning when tension begin to rise again as two fire trucks arrive. The rally was ongoing for more than an hour when the police started to push the protesters back and hit them. Some of the demonstrators can be heard and seen in the front lines trying to calm their side and stop whoever was trying to hit back at the police. On the booming sound system, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan’s Renato Reyes, Jr. and Kilusang Mayo Uno’s Bong Labog can be heard appealing to the police to let them finish the program so they can peacefully disperse their ranks.
A shot was fired. Smoke was seen from where the shot came from. Demonstrators and even media practitioners covering the rally began to realize it was tear gas as they cover their mouths and noses and started to retreat. But there was no smoke as the usual tear gas would have done. As the demonstrators started to step backward away from the police line, the police van rampage began. As the demonstrators ran away from the embassy, police started to hit and nab whoever they caught.
Earlier, when the march arrived at the embassy, Charles Noay, an 18-year-old Lumad from Cagayan de Oro was nabbed, pushed to the embassy’s wall and handcuffed by the police. The police attempted to hide Noay with women police surrounding him. After heated negotiations, Noay was finally released and the rally’s program was able to proceed.
Traumatized by the incident, Noay was crying all throughout the program while paramedics assisted him.
“Hindi ako makahinga doon sa loob dahil iniipit nila ako (I couldn’t breath inside because they were pressing me),” said Noay between sobs.
According to Josephine Pagalan, a Lumad from Caraga and Spokesperson of Kahugpungan sa mga Lumad-Caraga (KASALU), she heard a police official, later identified as Manila Police District’s (MPD) Senior Supt. Marcelino Pedrozo, Jr, ordering the police to disperse the rally.
In GMA’s broadcast, Pedrozo was caught on video ordering the dispersal of the demonstration.
“Wala naman kayong nahuli…magkagulo na kung magkagulo, pulis tayo rito eh, pwede ba tayo magpatalo sa mga yan? Ano pa ang mukhang ihaharap natin sa embassy? (You didn’t even arrest a single one…let there be a riot if it’s necessary, we are the police here, can we let ourselves lose? How will we face the embassy?)” said Pedrozo while scolding his ground officials.
“I-disperse na yan. Lumaban kasi kayo! Mga pulis kayo hindi kayo lumalaban (Disperse them. You should fight! You are the police but you did not fight),” ordered Pedrozo.
However, in an interview after the dispersal, when asked about the police van’s rampage, Pedrozo said that he didn’t see that their police van ran over the protesters.
“Nataranta na ho kasi sinisira yung sasakyan kaya hindi na nakontrol nung driver (The driver panicked because the protesters were breaking the vehicle that’s why he was not able to control it),” said Pedrozo.
Among the demonstrators, 50 were injured and 18 was brought to the hospital while four were badly hurt during the incident according to Dr. Julie Caguiat of the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) who was at the protest as paramedics. Most of the injured were caused by mauling and the severe cases were the ones hit by the police vehicle including a 61-year-old Mamanwa from Mindanao.
Among those badly injured is Piya Macliing Malayao, a Bontoc Igorot from the Mountain Province and Secretary General of Katribu (Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas or National Alliance of Indigenous Peoples Organizations in the Philippines).
According to Malayao she was able to evade the rampaging police van on its first reverse acceleration but was hit in the right leg on its third time to drive back. While everyone was retreating and the police were advancing, she was left on the sidewalk with other protesters who were assisting her to wait for the paramedic HEAD to treat her wounds. Unfortunately, the nurse who was supposed to assist her were grabbed and cuffed by the police. The nurse was wearing a large identification card indicating that he is a paramedic. Malayo and her companions ran towards the nurse and for almost an hour, a tug-of-war between them and the police ensued.
Police also forcibly carried Dr. Caguiat who came to assert that they were paramedics and to let them treat their patient.
Later on when they were seated at the sidewalk, Malayao’s wounds being treated by Red Cross volunteers who came, Pedrozo ordered Malayao’s arrest including the paramedics.
Malayao was later brought to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) but was refused to be accompanied by the paramedics. The paramedics were instead brought to the MPD headquarters.
According to Karapatan’s initial report, 42 individuals were arrested, including 31 individuals brought to the Manila Police District Station, among them are two Lumad minors, five and 11 individuals brought to the Philippine General Hospital and Ospital ng Maynila. The group reported that the 11 injured individuals brought to the two hospitals were guarded and were under threat of being charged and detained by the police.
Those arrested and brought to the MPD were released on recognizance later that afternoon.
“Nakakaranas na nga ng karahasan sa aming mga pamayanan, pati ba naman dito sa kalunsuran na naggigiit ang mga pambansang minorya para sa sariling pagpapasya ay ganito ang gagawin sa amin? (We already experience violence in our communities, but even here in the cities where the national minorities came down to assert our right to self determination we have to face the same violence?),” said and emotional Malayao during a press conference in UP Diliman a day after the violent dispersal.
According to Jerome Aba of Suara Bangsamoro, the Sandugo-led rally to the US embassy was to call against US domination in the country and to support President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement for an independent foreign policy.
“Ang dominasyon ng US ang dahilan sa pandarambong ng lupang ninuno at teritoryo ng bangsamoro (The US domination is the reason for the plunder of our ancestral lands and bangsamoro territory),” said Aba.
He furthered that the US domination is the reason for the poverty, not only of the indigenous people and moro but of the Filipino people.
More than 3,000 national minorities from different tribes from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are in the country’s regional capital since October 12 to assert their right to self-determination. They are being hosted by the University of the Philippines Diliman.
