Manila mayor says Mendiola rioters may have been paid
Unidentified men try to force their way through Ayala Bridge going to Mendiola on Sunday, September 21, 2025. (INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ)
MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Monday hinted at the possibility that the rioters in Mendiola last Sunday may have been paid.
“A few days before I have intelligence report na may mga initiator or instigator na nagfa-fund sa mga batang ito. Eh alam mo syempre yung limang daang piso, isang libong piso, ibigay mo yan sa kanto, bukas na bukas lalabas ‘yang mga yan,” Domagoso said in a GMA-7 interview.
(A few days before, I had intelligence reports that there were initiators or instigators who were funding these children. You know, of course, if you hand out P500, P1,000, they will show up.)
Earlier, Domagoso, citing initial reports, said a Filipino-Chinese personality, a politician, and a lawyer may be behind the riot.
On Sunday afternoon, black-clad and ski mask-wearing rioters first clashed with the police at the foot of Ayala Bridge in Manila set on fire a trailer truck, a motorcycle, and tires while hurling stones at the police line.
The violence was more intense around Mendiola Peace Arch in C.M. Recto Ave. when rioters wearing the same black mask and clothes attempted to break through the police line securing the road to Malacañang Palace.
The rioters also hurled rocks, bottles, and other objects at the police, prompting them to fire tear gas and use a water cannon to disperse the crowd.
The Department of Health on Monday said an unidentified man was dead on arrival due to stab wounds during the riots in Mendiola.
READ: Manila riot leaves 1 dead, over 100 arrested, hotel ransacked
Several social media posts, however, have claimed that there were fatal shooting incidents during the riots, but Domagoso said these remain rumors.
“So far, tsismis pa lang, walang report,” he said of the shooting incident reports circulating online.
(So far it remains as gossip, there are no reports about it.)
“There are circulating reports in chat groups which said that 30 people are dead, but we are still looking for the dead, we haven’t found them yet, and they are not in the hospital,” he added. /gsg
