Activists burn flag, defile US Embassy seal

Students vandalise the outer wall of the US embassy, during a lightning protest in Manila on Monday. The protesters staged a lightning rally on the first day of the 2012 Balikatan Exercises, a joint exercise between US and Philippine troops that will take place simultaneously in several parts of the Philippines starting today.  Photo by Noel Celis, AFP

MANILA, Philipines – Several student activists rallied in front of the United States Embassy early Monday morning, hours before the Philippines-US Balikatan exercises begin.

Security guards and policemen were caught by surprise as members of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) staged a lightning rally in front of the US Embassy in Manila before 6 a.m.

Security guards decided not to go out the premises of the embassy, and only took pictures of the militants who were defacing the seal and gates of the embassy.

The militants threw red and blue paint at the seal of the embassy. They also burned an American flag.

The militants spray-painted the gates of the embassy with the messages “US troops out now,” and “Junk VFA! (Visiting Forces Agreement).”

The activists were able to stage their lightning rally as no policemen were present around the embassy when they arrived.

Radio dzMM’s Noel Alamar, however, reported seeing a policeman sleeping inside his patrol car while the rally was ongoing.

In a statement, the LFS said: “Despite the people’s clamor for independence, Noynoy Aquino continues to be at the beck and call of the government of the US, and, in doing so, exposes himself as a slave for his imperialist masters instead of us Filipinos.”

“Like a dog to his master, Noynoy laps up outdated equipment from the US as bribe for their military operations in the country, like surveillance by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), most famous of which is the armed US Drones, responsible for the recent Sulu bombing. The persistence of military troops not only in training, but years proven of actual combat operations is a clear breach of our Constitution.”

The rally lasted for about 20 minutes. The militants were eventually driven away by the police.