MANILA (Sputnik) – The latest demonstrations follow last week’s rallies organized by the People’s Campaign Against APEC and Imperialist Globalization, despite a government ban on protests during the APEC Summit week.
"Actually, these protests are rather against the government than APEC," a bystander told Sputnik.
Protesters claim the government is not protecting the national interests of the Philippines, suggesting that the country has become a battleground between the United States and China, sidelining the Philippines' territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
President Benigno Aquino, meanwhile, called in remarks to APEC Economic Leaders on Thursday for a "holistic" growth agenda.
"Building on APEC’s achievements over the past generation, the Philippines hosts APEC with a people-centered agenda that embraces all segments of society as invaluable participants in a growth that is holistic," Aquino said.
At the moment, heavy security is preventing street protesters from approaching the summit's venues. Protesters primarily chant anti-government slogans.
"We will not allow them to approach the APEC venue," a policeman next to the protesters told Sputnik.
Later reports said demonstrators attempted to reach the summit venue by breaking through baton-wielding police deploying lines of shields.
