Police attempted to arrest veteran photojournalist Alberto “Bullit” Marquez as he was covering a rally on Wednesday, July 22, in Pasay City against alleged US aggression in the Middle East and the Washington-initiated “Pax Silica” project to set up an expansive AI and semiconductor hub in the Philippines.
Marquez was trying to take pictures of a protester being arrested by the police when one officer covered his camera. He pushed the officer’s hand away, uttering an expletive in response to the aggressive move.
He said he and Manila Times chief of photographers, Rene Dilan, saw a Muslim woman being pulled from the ranks of the protesters by the police.
“Both of us instinctively went behind the police and tried to photograph her. She was sitting on the ground and police were trying to prop her up,” he told CoverStory.ph.
Officers then rushed to block him and Dilan from photographing the action, he said.
One officer tried to arrest Marquez for allegedly hurling invectives at him. Marquez said it wasn’t profanity directed at anyone in particular.
One of his cameras fell to the ground when other officers pulled him away. As he picked it up, the officers grabbed his arms and tried to handcuff him. He managed to shake free from their grip and moved away.
He wasn’t pursued, but one video of the scene showed another officer trying to grab Dilan, while a third photographer angrily protested against the police action.
Marquez told CoverStory.ph that he was fine. “Hazard of the trade,” he said.
PCP, PPP statements
The Photojournalist Center of the Philippines (PCP) and Press Photographers of the Philippines (PPP) denounced the police action.
The PCP said it “strongly condemns the harassment and intimidation of the photojournalists” who covered the rally organized by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).
“Journalists and photojournalists perform a vital public service by documenting events of public interest,” the group said. “They must be allowed to carry out their work without threats, obstruction, or intimidation.”
The PPP said in its own statement that the police action was a “clear violation of press freedom and the constitutional right to gather news.”
Both groups demanded that the authorities investigate the incident and to hold those responsible for press freedom violations accountable.
The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) also condemned the police action. It said it would coordinate with Marquez and other journalists on what steps to take in response to the incident.
Napolcom probe
The National Police Commission (Napolcom) said it would thoroughly investigate the incident and there would be accountability if rules weren’t followed.
“Maintaining peace and order and protecting press freedom are not competing duties. Our police officers are expected to do both,” Commissioner Rafael Calinisan said.
The Southern Police District (SPD) said it was giving serious attention to allegations against officers, adding that it would not tolerate officers who violate individual rights or professional standards.
It expressed “utmost respect for the freedom of the press and recognizes the indispensable role of journalists” in keeping the public informed and said it “remains committed to transparency, accountability, the protection of human rights, and fostering a professional working relationship with the media as partners in keeping the public informed while ensuring the safety and security of all.”
Marquez started as a photographer for the Philippine Collegian, the student organ of the University of the Philippines in the late 1970s. He built his photojournalism career as a photographer and later as chief photographer for the Manila bureau of The Associated Press (AP).
At the AP, he covered major political upheavals during the final years of the Marcos dictatorship, culminating in the four-day 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, and the coup attempts against Corazon Aquino. His coverage also included natural disasters such as the Mount Pinatubo eruption, Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” and the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
He was sent on photo assignments twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan. He also covered the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protest in China, turmoil in Indonesia, three Olympic Games editions, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games, World University Games, World Gymnastics Championships, and protests in Pakistan, among others.
In recognition of his work, he received AP’s 2005 Gramling Award for excellence. He was also twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
Marquez retired in 2019 after 36 years with AP and continued to work as a freelance photographer, contributing photos and videos to online newsmagazine CoverStory.ph and Vera Files.
Rubio’s presence
On Wednesday, he again was on the streets, covering the rally close to the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), the venue for the 59th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which is chaired this year by the Philippines.
Tension rose as police tried to stop a march by Bayan members toward the PICC, where the foreign ministers held their meeting attended by their counterparts from the regional bloc’s major partners, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Manila the previous day, and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The marchers pushed forward against the police who tried to stop them with riot shields.
The SPD said several police officers were injured in the ensuing pushing and shoving.
The Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) Philippines said one of its volunteers who participated in the rally was arrested. She was later released without charges after negotiations with the police.
It was unclear whether the volunteer was the person whom Marquez was trying to photograph.
The group said in a statement that many among the protesters were reported injured in the police dispersal of the rally.
Rubio’s presence in Manila for the Asean Post-Ministerial Conference on July 22 provided Bayan the opportunity to call attention to the US role in the current Middle East crisis, particularly in its war on Iran, and its support for Israel’s alleged genocide in Gaza.
Pax Silica
The rally also called attention to the Pax Silica project, a major US-led economic and national security initiative launched by the US State Department headed by Rubio in December 2025.
It aims to build secure, multination resilient technology supply chains to counter China’s heavy dominance in AI. Six other countries joined the United States as the initial signatories to the project—United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Israel, and Singapore. The number has grown since then.
The Philippines formally joined as the 13th member and as the primary manufacturing and production hub. It offered about 1,620 hectares of land inside the former US Clark Air Base, calling it an Economic Security Zone.
CEC-Philippines said the memorandum of agreement the Philippines had entered into as part of Pax Silica allegedly threatened “the wholesale plunder of our lands, waters, and communities for the integration of our country into supply chains for artificial intelligence and advanced technologies to be deployed for war.”
Bayan said in a statement a day before its rally that the Pax Silica would be a “key component of the US strategy to dominate the global AI supply chain and wage economic warfare against China.”
“Pax Silica also deepens our entanglement in the escalating US-China rivalry. Facilities built to support US-controlled AI and hi-tech weapons supply chains are potential military targets in a full-scale conflict between the US and China,” Bayan said. CS
