House probe on ‘violent’ dispersal of Mendiola protesters sought

A young lawmaker on Wednesday sought for a congressional inquiry on the violent dispersal of student protesters who held a lightning rally in Mendiola earlier in the day. Kabataan party-list Representative Raymond Palatino said he would file a resolution directing the House committee on human rights to conduct an investigation of the violent dispersal. Palatino said the dispersal conducted by Manila anti-riot police and members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) was “downright unjust." “Hindi natin puwedeng palagpasin ito (We should not let this go unnoticed)," he said.
The students, who were protesting the alleged "overspending" of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her entourage during their recent US visit, were able to penetrate the Palace gate before they were driven away by authorities. According to Palatino, his office's legal team is studying filing legal charges against police authorities and PSG men who “clearly used excessive force and have violated their protocols of engagement" in dispersing the protesters. The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) likewise condemned the dispersal and called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to conduct a probe into it. “It is clear from the TV footage and photos that the police and the Presidential Security Group used excessive force in dealing with the activists. Even the arrested activists were beaten up," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. in a statement. Reyes cited a photo by GMANews.TV as proof of the alleged brutality of police officers who dealt with the rallying students. “(In a) photo that appeared on www.gmanews.tv, a plainclothes police was seen kicking a protester who was crouched on the street," he said. - GMANews.TV