The Metro Manila police defended its use of sonic alarms to repel protesters who marched towards the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit of world leaders in the capital on Tuesday.
Thousands of activists marched near the venue of the ASEAN Summit to protest the spate of killings in the country and the participation of US President Donald Trump in the meeting of world leaders.
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Police fired water cannons and sounded high-pitched alarms to stop the protesters’ march towards the Philippine International Convention Center.
The sonic weapon or long range acoustic device (LRAD) could have caused ear injuries, claimed Renato Reyes, secretary general of militant group Bayan.
“For the first time, the anti-riot police used the sonic weapon LRAD or long-range acoustic device against us. The piercing sound was used to disrupt the protest. This is a dangerous tactic,” Reyes said in an interview with Rappler.
Director Oscar Albayalde, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, said the (LRAD land) only causes discomfort.
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“The LRAD is non-fatal and has no harmful effect. It is used when authorities could no longer control protesters, just like what happened yesterday, when the mob used force and tried to slip past the barricades,” Albayalde told DZMM.
“The water canon hurts more, especially if its pressure was set high. It would feel like a punch,” he added.
About 20 demonstrators and six police officers were injured in the protests, according to latest reports.
Albayalde said 1,000 policemen from Calabarzon and the Special Action Force were set to reinforce the anti-riot team.
Protesters, he said, were only allowed to converge at Liwasang Bonifacio and Plaza Miranda.
