Event Summary
On 25 February 2026, during activities commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the 1986 People Power uprising, at least two protesters were arrested in Quezon City following the enforcement of a restricted protest zone near the EDSA Shrine.
Edel Parducho, who was serving as a marshal during the protest, was charged with physical injury. The Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) reported that video documentation and eyewitness accounts contradict the allegation, stating that he was assisting in maintaining order and protecting participants from being forcefully dispersed. Youth activist Three Odeña was reportedly documenting the protest when she was apprehended. Witnesses state she was pulled by the hair prior to arrest.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) designated a limited protest zone along White Plains Avenue, reportedly more than one kilometer away from the EDSA Shrine. Protest activities were not permitted along the primary stretch leading to the shrine, a historically symbolic site of the 1986 uprising. Additionally, Quezon City Public Safety Office head Elmo San Diego stated that permits would not be issued to “seditious groups” with a “bad record” seeking to overthrow the government. The police referred to Koalisyon Makabayan, which has been accused by the state of association with organizations designated as terrorist groups. Koalisyon Makabayan publicly stated it would continue protest actions “with or without permit.”
The February 2026 arrests form part of a broader pattern of protest-related enforcement since September 2025, when nationwide mobilizations began calling for accountability over alleged irregularities in flood control projects and broader governance concerns. During these protests, over 200 protesters were arrested, including 103 minors. The repeated imposition of restrictive protest zones near symbolic public sites, combined with arrests and large-scale police deployments, raises concerns regarding the proportionality and necessity of restrictions imposed on assemblies.