(The Manila Times) GEN. Guillermo Eleazar urged activists planning protests on the 123rd celebration of Philippine Independence Day on Saturday to go online to avoid spreading the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“Mas maigi pa rin po talaga na gawin ang inyong mga aktibidad para sa Araw ng Kalayaan sa pamamagitan ng Zoom o iba pang mga social media platforms (It is still better to do your activities for Independence Day through Zoom or other social media platforms),” said the Philippine National Police chief in a statement.

“The PNP respects everyone’s right to freedom of speech and expression subalit iba po ang ating sitwasyon ngayon. Maging responsable po tayo at unahin ang kalusugan at kaligtasan ng bawat isa (but our situation is different now. Let us be responsible and prioritize each other’s health and safety,” he added.

Nevertheless, the PNP will remain on alert in anticipation of people who will physically hold protest actions, according to Eleazar.

He also reminded all police personnel to observe maximum tolerance and to give activists’ time to disperse voluntarily.

“Huwag daanin sa init ng ulo ang pakikipagusap sa mga magra-rally sa Sabado upang maiwasan ang gulo (Let’s keep our temper down when we talk to theh rallyists on Saturday to avoid trouble),” Eleazar said.

“Kung talagang may mga pasaway na tahasan ang pagsuway sa ating minimum public health safety standards, pasensyahan po tayo pero we have to enforce the law (If there are violators of our minimum public health safety standards, we apologize but we have to enforce the law),” he added.

The PNP chief also appealed to the public to cooperate to maintain a peaceful and orderly commemoration of our Independence Day.|