Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino strongly condemns the violent dispersal of youth and student protesters who held a lightning rally in Mendiola earlier today.

Palatino said, “After insulting the public’s intelligence by spewing out ridiculous lies and alibis to justify Arroyo’s lavish dinners, authorities are now resorting to excessive force and violence to quell disgust over the administration’s gluttony amidst widespread crisis and poverty.”

“This is not right and downright unjust. Hindi natin puwedeng palagpasin ito. Hindi na nga makapagpaliwanag ng maayos ang pangulo sa publiko, ngayon naman halos patayin sa suntok, bugbog st sipa ang mga kabataang nagpoprotesta. Kung dati’y mga mamahaling dinner lang ang hindi natin masikmura, ngayon nadagdagan pa ang dahilan para lalo tayong masuklam sa administrasyong ito,” Palatino said.

The young solon said that he will file a resolution directing the House Committee on Human Rights to immediately conduct an investigation of the violent dispersal.

Palatino added that his office’s legal team is also studying filing legal charges against police authorities and members of the Presidential Security Group who clearly used excessive force and have violated their protocols of engagement, with news footages and photos as evidence.