Philippines: ill-treatment of children in police custody after demonstrations

On September 21, 2025, around 109 children were arrested by the MPD at the Mendiola rally. CLRDC learned that there were 61 children at the MPD who were between 15 and 18 years old and 13 children below 15 years old, the youngest being 9 years old.

The CLRDC and its partners NGOs, who went to the MPD three consecutive days after the arrest, have seen that children sustained physical injuries. Furthermore, the parents of the children were prohibited access to the MPD and were denied visits to their children shortly after the arrest and during the Inquest Proceedings in violation of Section 22 of Republic Act 9344 (R.A. 9344 as amended, Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006), which mandates the presence of the parents, guardian, or nearest relative of the children during the initial investigation of law enforcement officers.

Four days after the arrest of the children, CLRDC had received reports that the majority of them is still in the custody of the MPD, and those below 15 years old were transferred to the government shelter Haven in Alabang, in violation of Section 21 (i) of RA9344 was further committed, as it states that "immediately but not later that eight hours after apprehension, turn over the custody of the child to the Child Welfare and Development Office or other accredited NGOs."

The circumstances at hand show the complete disregard of the MPD of the proper procedures in handling children as mandated by R.A. 9344 as amended. We call upon the MPD to observe and respect the rights guaranteed to children in their custody as amended by law.