A protester who disrupted President Rodrigo Duterte’s speech in Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite, was arrested on Tuesday morning, police said.

A report from Kawit Municipal Police Station identified the protester as 20-year-old Francis Couichie.





While Duterte was delivering his speech during the commemoration of the 120th Independence Day celebration, Couichie and nine other protesters made a scene by heckling the President.

Reports said they were shouting “huwad na kalayaan” (false freedom) while the President was speaking.

Couichie was caught and arrested by police authorities while the nine other protesters managed to escape.

However, Duterte kept his cool, saying protestors have the right to practice their freedom of speech.

“I will understand. Our Constitution guarantees, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. I would just advise the law enforcement to just deal with them peacefully and [with] maximum tolerance,” he said.

The President added there was one common denominator between him and the protestors—love for the country.

“Nobody can ever question my love for the country, I was in Mindanao but I went all the way here. Why do you think? Ambition? It’s love of country and love of Caviteño. Even the protestors, I love them. You don’t believe me? That is the truth,” Duterte said.

Couichie is now under the custody of Kawit Municipal Police Station for investigation and documentation. He will face charges of public disturbance in accordance with Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code.

Attacks

In his speech, Duterte said numerous attacks from within still imprison the country, 120 years after the Philippines declared its independence from Spain.

Poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, terrorism, criminality and illegal drugs are social ills that continue to imprison the Philippines, 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 all of us today. Sadly, more than a century since our heroes liberated is from foreign subjugation, our nation still has to face enemies that attack from within,” he added.

“At this crucial juncture in our history, we need to draw strength from the lessons of our past to ensure that these ills do not cause any more damage to our future.”

He also voiced hope that the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which seeks to abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), will be passed by congress.

Duterte skipped the arrival honors and the wreath-laying ceremony of his first Independence Day celebration because of the inclement weather.

Last year, Duterte skipped the ceremonies in Luneta because he “was not feeling well.”

with ROY NARRA