23/09/2025
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๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
โIt wasnโt us!โ I shout as I read all the hateful comments flooding online; people blaming the protesters who joined the rally at Mendiola, Manila, last Sunday, September 21, for all the damage and vandalism that happened. We were there fighting for justice, for the voices of the people, against all the money stolen from us. But now, instead of being heard, we are being accused.
We marched that day with our voices, not with weapons. We carried placards, not stones. We came with anger in our hearts, yesโbut it was the kind of anger that demands change, not destruction.
Yet, by sundown, the news branded us as rioters. Headlines screamed that we started the chaos, that we tore down barriers and hurled objects, that we broke what wasnโt ours. Reporters seemed so sure that it was us, the protestersโwho turned violent. But I ask, how could they be so sure? Did they walk with us? Did they see who truly started the fight?
Because I did.
As I ran to the nearest convenience store with my friends, dozens of others ran with us. At that moment, convenience stores were the only places offering shelter. The streets were full of chaosโI canโt even explain how terrified I was. Blood stained the floor, yet I couldnโt find any of it shown on the news. The media doesn't seem to enjoy posting holistically these days, I suppose.
When we entered the store, I noticed a boy clutching his bloody hands, cut by broken glass. I asked him what had happened. He told me he was part of the riotโthat his own uncle had asked him to join for two hundred pesos.
Paid to start fights. Thatโs when it hit me, they were paid to make it look like we were the ones who had turned wild and paid to give the police a reason to open fire, to scatter us in fear, to discourage us from ever joining a rally again.
Two hundred pesos, thatโs the price they put on the truth.
And now, the blame falls on us. The damage, they say, will be shouldered by taxpayers. But arenโt we the taxpayers too?
We didnโt come to destroy. We came because we believe this country deserves better. We came because the silence has gone on too long. We came to be heard. But instead, we were silenced by accusations, by the weight of a disturbance we did not cause.
So I ask again, how can they be so sure it was us?
That day, the glass may have shattered and the walls may have cracked. But what truly broke was something deeper: trust. Trust in the stories told about us. Trust in the fairness of judgment. Trust that the truth will ever see the light.
And that is why we will keep marching. Because even if they call us rioters, we know the truthโwe were there to protest, not to cause trouble.
Written by Sophia Suazo
Cartoon by Antares Kiru Compuesto
