100 rioters, anarchists arrested after clash with Manila police, anti-corruption protesters clash with pro-Duterte camp

Manila: About 100 rioters and suspected anarchists were arrested here on Sunday after clashing with police and attempting to burn a local hotel, virtually hijacking peaceful anti-corruption protests held in heldher parts of the country.

Notably, among the protesters, tensions erupted between anti-corruption and the pro-Duterte camps, with verbal attacks and clashes reported between the two sides amid the heat of high-octane street action near Malacanang, the presidential palace.

The visuals showed public fury against fake or subpar government infrastructure projects, especially those involving flood defences.

Investigations showed trillions of pesos lined the pockets of certain contractors, government engineers, and certain lawmakers even as ordinary residents suffered from deadly floods.

The unprecedented protests called out midnight budget insertions, mismanaged flood-control funds, and the "ayuda" system with mass actions spreading beyond Manila.

A number of suspected anarchists burnt a trailer truck and container van in their attempt to break through the anti-riot police phalanx and storm the Presidential Palace on Sunday.

The young protesters who showed defiance in their confrontation with anti-riot police.

Several cops were reportedly injured, according to Manila police, while a still-unknown number of protesters were hurt.

A separate group, chanting “Duterte, Duterte” staged their own protest apart from the generally peaceful assemblies attended by tens of thousands in two places in Manila: EDSA-Ortigas Marian Shrine and Luneta Park in Manila. 

Protests were also reported in Baguio, Bulacan, Cebu, Davao.

In Sorsogon, where a small group also conducted a protest, the province's Bishop Jose Alan Dialogo appealed for solidarity against corruption, while imploring those involved to repent and do acts of restoration.

It’s not immediately clear who are the forces behind the Manila rioters.

It's also unclear if they belonged to the same group as the Duterte supporters, who staged their own demonstration on Recto and marched towards Mendiola and Ayala Bridge.

A knife-wielding man, reportedly a pro-Duterte supporter, clashed with anti-corruption protesters during the "Trillion Peso March" as it neared the People Power Monument, but was later disarmed, according to the LaSallian.

President Marcos Jr has expressed support for the protests, but called for peaceful assemblies. 

The protests on September 21 coincided with the 53rd anniversary of the 1972 martial law declaration.

Recent Senate and House hearings have exposed alleged kickbacks in flood-control projects, fuelling public outrage and leading to blacklisting of involved firms, the cases filed against 20 public works officials, five contractors and more than 700 bank accounts frozen.