Tension ran high as the Manila Police District (MPD) anti-riot unit blocked around 700 members of human rights groups from marching to Mendiola to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of Martial Law on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Protesters faced the Manila police as they attempted to march towards Mendiola Bridge near Malacañang Palace.
Tension escalated when the groups tried to breach the police barricade.
MPD Chief Arnold Thomas Ibay said they blocked the rallyists because they cannot present any permits to rally.
"Wala po sila ipinakita na permit. Kung gusto po nila magpahayag ng damdamin, (They did not show us their permit. If they want to express their feelings) we advise them to go to our freedom parks where they can hold their protests without securing permits," he said.
The protesters were members of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Migrante, Anakbayan, Bayan Muna, and other progressive groups.
They said the march was held to remember the thousands of victims of torture, killings and forced disappearances during Martial Law in 1972, which was imposed by the late president Ferdinand Marcos, the father President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The groups claimed that the first two years of the Marcos Jr. administration felt like a Martial Law because of the incidents of extrajudicial killings, bombings in rural areas, and people who were forced to surrender.