Activists condemn persecution in rally

Days after trumped-up charges against four leading activists were dismissed by the Regional Trial Court of Palayan City, activists marched to Mendiola, Manila to condemn the Rodrigo Duterte government for its political persecution of dissenters.

Saying the government has revived Gloria Arroyo-era mechanisms to quell dissent on top of its own bloody record on human rights, the protesters recalled that their rally Thursday, August 16, also coincided with the first anniversary of the killing of 17-year old high school student Kian de los Santos in Caloocan City that who was widely believed to be killed extrajudicially by the Philippine National Police. (Video by Joseph Cuevas)