1 day ago
4
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Philstar.com
October 24, 2025 | 5:16pm
Youth protestors take to the People Power Monument to slam rampant government corruption on September 21, 2025.
Jean Mangaluz / Philstar.com
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday said that being young is not an excuse to break the law amid growing student protests against government corruption.
At a Palace briefing, Press Officer Claire Castro addressed complaints from student leaders who said police had arrested more youth protesters than corrupt officials.
Castro said police are within their rights to arrest anyone caught committing a violation.
“Hindi po lisensya ang pagiging kabataan para po gumawa ng isang krimen at sasabihin na ‘huwag niyo kaming hulihin dahil kami ay parte ng kabataan’. Ang batas po ay walang tinitingnan. Kabataan na nasa tamang edad. Senior citizen may edad. Kapag gumawa ng krimen at lumabag sa batas, dapat lamang po managot,” Castro said.
(Being a youth is not a license to be a criminal and to say ‘do not arrest us because we are young.’ The law does not look at anyone. A youth in the right age. A senior citizen with age. If a crime is committed and a law is broken, someone must be held accountable.)
Castro said that the youth must be the hope of the country, so they should be the first to follow the law.
On subpoena for a student leader
Castro was also asked about the Philippine National Police’s subpoena of University Student Council chair Joaquin Buenaflor in connection with the violent September 21 protests at Mendiola.
She clarified that receiving a subpoena does not imply guilt. “They may give some information that will help to see, to pinpoint and to include the necessary persons in the case,” Castro said in Filipino.
On September 21, people across the country protested the massive corruption scandal in the government. Violence erupted in Mendiola, resulting in the death of one person.
Billions of pesos are suspected to have been stolen from national coffers in kickback schemes within the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The corruption scam has sparked protests especially among the youth. Student groups across Manila schools have organized walkouts in protest of the suspected plunder.
