Filipinos protest outside US embassy on revolution anniversary

Philippines police use water cannon to disperse protesters outside of US Embassy in Manila on February 25, 2017.

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.

Activists march on the EDSA highway in Manila on February 25, 2017, during the 31st anniversary of the "People Power" revolution. (Photo by AFP)

"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.

Philippine Senator Leila De Lima (C), a top critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, is escorted by police officers after her arrest at the Senate in Manila on February 24, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

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.

Thousands of Catholic faithful gathered in a dawn rally in a "show of force" against alleged extrajudicial killings in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war in Manila on February 18, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

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.