MANILA, Philippines - A student activist was arrested yesterday for heckling President Benigno Aquino III during his Independence Day speech in Naga City.
Provincial news website Bicol Standard reported that Emmanuel Pio Mijares, a 19-year-old psychology student of Ateneo de Naga University, shouted "Patalsikin ang Pork Barrel King! Walang pagbabago sa Pilipinas!" while Aquino was delivering his speech.
Mijares is reportedly a member of Youth ACT Now! and Kabataan Partylist.
The Philippine National Police in Naga told Bicol Standard that Mijares will be charged with violation of Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code.
The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) condemned the arrest of Mijares, saying it signifies that Filipinos are still not free.
"If a mere exercise of rightful expression is a basis for incarceration, then the BS Aquino regime is no different to the fascist orientation of the Marcos Martial Law," the CEGP said in an article on its website.
"It is a blow to the BS Aquino government that a 19-year-old student is willing to be imprisoned because of airing a protest compared to him and all his allies who deny evident negligence, abuse and corruption," the group added.
The National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP) also said that Mijares' arrest shows how the current administration "curtails the freedom of expression and assembly of those who are critical of its policies and programs."
"While Aquino propagates its pseudo reforms, the violent and inhumane arrest and detention of Mijares is a clear manifestation that there is no genuine freedom in the country," the NUSP said.
In his speech, Aquino hit back at critics and denied that the cases filed in connection with the pork barrel scam were railroaded and politicized.
Protesters, however, urged Aquino to also probe his allies who were implicated in the multibillion-peso controversy. -Louis Bacani
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