FAKE INDEPENDENCE: YOUTH

Protest disrupts President Rodrigo Duterte’s Independence Day speech in Kawit, Cavite

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, June 12, was about to deliver a speech for the 120th Independence Day celebration in Kawit, Cavite when protesters shouted his name, calling him “fascist” and seeking his ouster.

The rallyists braved the bad weather just to express their dissent against Duterte at the annual ceremony commemorating the Philippines’ independence from Spain.

Just as the President was about to begin his speech, protesters briefly stopped him as they screamed: “Huwad na

Kalayaan! Duterte patalsikin!

Pasista! (Fake Independence! Oust Duterte! Fascist!)”

The demonstrators were immediately caught but the President told the policemen to “deal with them peacefully and (with) maximum tolerance.”

“Our Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and free expression,” Duterte said. “Just let them be. It’s freedom of speech. You can have it. That’s okay. I will understand.”

Police, however, are set to file charges against one of the protesters, 20-year-old Francis Couichie, for disturbance of the peace under Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code. “Sa freedom of expression,

lusot sila pero sa violation ngArticle 153 of the Revised Penal Code, hindi (They may have the right to freedom of expression, but they are liable for violation of Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code),” said Senior Sup. William Segun, Cavite Police Provincial Office director.

Couichie, a resident of MH Del Pilar St. in Biñan, Laguna, was among over 10 protesters who heckled President Duterte shortly after he started delivering his speech at the historical window of the Aguinaldo Shrine.

Segun said they failed to monitor the protesters because they had mixed with the audience.

Couichie was placed under the custody of the Cavite Police Provincial Office for proper disposition and documentation.

It was the first time Duterte, as the highest official in the land, led the celebration of the country’s 120th Independence Day at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite.

The President skipped the 119th Independence Day celebration at Rizal Park in Manila last year to focus more on pressing issues hounding the Islamic City of Marawi, which at that time was still under siege by pro-Islamic State terrorists.

Duterte, in a keynote speech for the 120th anniversary of the Philippines’ independence, acknowledged that the Filipinos’ “love of country” continues to prevail.

“Today, we remember our past filled with optimism for a future that we can proudly bequeath to the next generations of Filipinos,” the President said.

“Indeed, the story of how our forebears fought for our sovereignty and established a Filipino nation shall forever inspire us to cherish the freedoms that we enjoy today,” he added.

But despite the nation’s liberty from any foreign control, Duterte appealed to his fellow countrymen to help him combat the “modern challenges” of poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, terrorism, criminality and illegal drugs.

Huwad na Kalayaan! Duterte patalsikin! Pasista! (Fake Independence! Oust Duterte! Fascist!) PROTESTERS SLOGAN THEY YELLED TO DISRUPT THE PRESIDENT’S SPEECH

Indeed, the story of how our forebears fought for our sovereignty and established a Filipino nation shall forever inspire us to cherish the freedoms that we enjoy today. PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE