Filipinos have rallied and clashed with police outside the US Embassy in capital Manila as thousands more marched to mark the anniversary of a revolution that ousted a US-backed dictator over 30 years ago.
Anti-riot police blasted the protesters with water cannons on Saturday after the crowd managed to form a human barricade leading to the embassy gate. Several people were reported to have been injured by the water cannons.
"The police did not do the right thing since we were just expressing our opinion about the oppression of foreign countries and their exploitation of our resources," said Carlito Badion, spokesperson of the National Alliance of the Filipino Urban Poor, which organized the protest rally.
Hundreds of others joined another rally in Manila to protest President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug battle after the detention of one of his major critics.
The protesters staged the rally outside the national police headquarters where officers arrested Senator Leila De Lima on Friday, press reports said.
A rival demonstration, an overnight vigil, to show public support for Duterte was scheduled in Manila later on Saturday, with organizers calling for a million-man march.
Anti-Duterte activists said street protest rallies were expected to continue later with more supporters of Senator De Lima who was arrested on charges of drug trafficking.
The protesters claimed that Duterte's crackdown could lead to a repeat of the US-backed dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, which was ousted in a "People Power" uprising 31 years ago.
Since Duterte rose to power in July 2016, more than 6,500 suspected drug traffickers have reportedly been executed by law enforcement authorities as well as what opponents describe as "unknown assassins."
The president has not ruled out using martial law to prevent what he refers to as his country's slide into narco-state status.
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