What we know so far: The Sept. 21 Mendiola-Recto riots
MANILA, Philippines (3rd update, 7:42 p.m.) — Anti-corruption protests on Sunday, September 21, spilled beyond the peaceful gatherings at Rizal Park (Luneta) and the EDSA Shrine into violent clashes on the streets of Manila, where masked rioters battled police with stones, bottles, stick, and fire.
The riots left dozens of people arrested, scores of police injured, and a motel ransacked, capping a day meant to mark the anniversary of Martial Law with public outrage over corruption scandals.
Ayala Bridge: Fires spark first clash. The unrest began at Ayala Bridge, where authorities had parked a trailer truck to block entry to Malacañang. Masked men in black hoodies appeared, some carrying flags resembling the "One Piece Jolly Roger" symbols seen in riots in Indonesia and Nepal, and then earlier in the morning at the Luneta rally in Manila.
They torched the trailer truck, its tires, and a police motorcycle while hurling bottles and debris at officers. Videos livestreamed on TikTok showed the burning barricade separating rioters from police.
RELATED: Rioters torch truck, clash with police on Ayala Bridge amid Sept. 21 rallies
The Philippine National Police said at least 17 individuals were first apprehended there. By dawn the next day, the Manila Police District reported 113 arrests, some of them minors as young as 11, The STAR reported.
As of Monday, September 22, Manila Police District Spokesperson Police Major Philip Ines said that the total apprehended individuals is 216. Eighty-nine of the arrested rioters were minors.
The Department of Health also confirmed that there is one person who died due to stab wounds.
The Mendiola standoff, convergence
After Ayala Bridge, tensions shifted to Mendiola, where the same group of masked men confronted a police barricade at the Peace Arch. The Jolly Roger flag was still raised.
The rioters demanded entry to Malacañang: “Papasukin niyo kami” (“Let us in”). Police stood their ground in formation, at times using water cannons to disperse the crowd.
Protesters arriving from Luneta Park later converged in Mendiola, chanting anti-corruption slogans and denouncing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte, who herself is facing impeachment complains for alleged misuse of funds during her time as Education secretary.
"Marcos, Duterte, walang pinag-iba!" some of them shouted. (Marcos, Duterte, no difference)
While the Luneta contingent kept to the underpass, the masked rioters pressed against the barricades, taunting police who began spraying them with water.
Escalation after the convergence. Stones, paint and fire. As the day wore on, the confrontations grew more violent. Rioters threw stones, bottles and red-paint substances at the police. Officers responded with batons and water cannons, pushing forward and driving the rioters back toward Recto Avenue.
The police then settled into their shield formation in the underpass in front of a fast-food restaurant. From there, they took rioters one by one into custody.
They set piles of tarpaulins, metal scraps and wood ablaze. Witnesses said some objects thrown into the fires caused explosions like firecrackers.
Push toward Recto, motel ransacked
Fifty meters from the Mendiola Peace Arch, where fire was lit, causing firecracker-like blasts, rioters continued to taunt the police.
Videos captured rioters waving an upside-down Philippine flag — a sign of being “at war” — while shouting “Gulo na ’to!” (“This is chaos”).
Protesters continued to hurl stones at police, some of whom pleaded not to be thrown at.
WATCH: Protesters hurl stones at police in Mendiola, Manila, on Sunday, as tensions between demonstrators and law enforcement flare once again. | via @IanLaquiPatrick pic.twitter.com/VT2TXhnWTJ
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) September 21, 2025
WATCH: Rioters throw random objects and bottles at police during a clash around 5:59 p.m. in Mendiola, Manila, on Sunday, Sept. 21. | via @IanLaquiPatrick pic.twitter.com/fJB9c0fP4Q
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) September 21, 2025
As clashes dragged into the night, police continued arresting stone-throwers and rioters. One of those nabbed on site, a man wearing white (pictured), insisted was not part of the mob—a statement a rioter confirmed, telling the officer, "Hoy, hindi kasama 'yan, 'di kasama 'yan!" ("Hey, he's not part of it, he's not part of it.")
Another rioter was also seen hurling rocks at a pizza parlor's glass windows. By evening, more than 100 policemen and 70 civilians had been reported injured.
The violence peaked when rioters stormed a motel on Recto Avenue after claiming a policeman had shot one of them and fled inside.
Glass doors were smashed, the establishment’s vault was looted, and employees were stripped of phones, licenses, and cash. One child was even seen carrying a stolen helmet, admitting to Philstar.com: "Ninakaw namin doon, sa loob." ("We stole it inside.")
The police’s SWAT team entered to quell the attack, deploying what appeared to be a smoke grenade. One security guard was injured in the rampage.
By late evening, the police had regained control. Customers trapped inside the ransacked motel were escorted out, while bystanders snapped photos of the damage.
Fireworks unexpectedly lit up the Mendiola sky, prompting applause — a surreal end to a day of fury.
Were there gunshots?
Amid the chaos, loud explosions rang out. Some bystanders claimed they were gunfire, some bystanders claimed police fired blank rounds, while others insisted they were bottles or makeshift explosives thrown into flames.
A man was spotted bleeding from the head, but relatives said he was struck by a stone, not a bullet.
TINAMAAN NG BATO
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) September 21, 2025
One man was hit in the head by a stone amid the continuing chaos in Mendiola on Sunday evening.
Video by @IanLaquiPatrick pic.twitter.com/LUvkPIq8Pl
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla later insisted that no live ammunition was fired, only smoke grenades. He also said it was only SWAT team members who carried devices, as the rest of the police personnel were banned from carrying firearms.
It was the rioters' Molotov cocktail attacks that crossed the line, Remulla said.
Rioters' affiliation
Throughout the day, the masked rioters distanced themselves from the peaceful anti-corruption rallies at Luneta and EDSA. At one point, they mocked protesters as “NPA” and “stupid.”
Asked by Philstar.com who they were, one rioter only replied "Grupo lang rin ng vlog" ("It’s just a vloggers’ group"), declining to name their organization.
Others distributing snacks and water to bystanders hinted at a group with a Greek name, but no confirmed affiliation has emerged.
Renato Reyes, secretary-general of established left-wing organization Bayan, stressed that those who stirred chaos were not connected to the mainstream protest organizers. He was a victim of the violence himself, he said, and that we was taken to the hospital.
On Monday, September 22, the Manila Police District said those who initiated the violence may have been a "hip-hop" gang inspired by a rapper. Maj. Philipp Ines, police spokesperson, however, declined to name the rapper.
"What they said was that they were merely influenced by a so-called rapper personality. However, we have not yet validated this; it is only based on the account of those in our custody," Ines said at a press briefing.
Zooming out: Corruption scandal sparks outrage
The violence unfolded against the backdrop of the flood-control corruption scandal — a multibillion-peso mess involving alleged kickbacks, ghost projects and luxury lifestyles of contractors and politicians.
The scandal has already forced House Speaker Martin Romualdez to resign, triggered high-level probes in Congress, and prompted the resignation of DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
Sunday’s protests were intended to channel public outrage peacefully. But the riots in Manila underscored how combustible the national mood has become.
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