Independence Day celebrations and protest actions across the country on Friday, June 12, were generally peaceful and orderly, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said, even as authorities monitored a young protester who sprayed paint on an undercover police officer in Manila.

Police General Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr., PNP chief, placed all police regional offices and national support units on full alert status for the holiday. More than 89,000 police personnel were deployed nationwide to secure commemorative activities, public assemblies, transportation hubs, tourist destinations, and other crowded areas.

“As of this hour, the localized demonstrations and public assemblies being held across the country in observance of Independence Day have remained completely peaceful and orderly, with no major untoward incidents reported,” Nartatez said in a statement issued at 3 p.m.

In Metro Manila, around 16,000 police personnel were dispatched on the ground to secure various protests.

Despite the alert status, an isolated confrontation disrupted the peaceful gathering along Kalaw Avenue in Manila, where a crowd of about 300 participants had gathered by 10:00 a.m.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) spokesperson Major Hazel Asilo confirmed that a young protester defaced public property and attacked a law enforcer.

“He was vandalizing a traffic island along Kalaw Avenue. When our undercover police officer tried to stop him, he sprayed paint into our cop who was in civilian clothes,” Asilo said.

The undercover officer escaped serious eye and head injury during the encounter, according to Asilo.

“Aside from the paint on the head, arm, and clothing, the police officer is doing fine,” Asilo said, noting that the officer remained with the monitoring team.

The protester managed to break free from the undercover cop and blended into the crowd by removing his shirt.

“An arrest was attempted. However, he struggled. He ran and removed his clothing so he could not be identified,” Asilo explained.

While the police have not yet determined the political affiliation of the protester, Asilo said the NCRPO was actively tracking the individual.

“We have his picture so we will identify him if he is in our gallery,” she added.

According to police, the incident stood out as the lone disruption in an otherwise quiet day of mass actions across the metro.

Aside from the Kalaw Avenue rally, the NCRPO monitored three other ongoing demonstrations as of 10:00 a.m. including 50 protesters near Recto Avenue; 100 participants at Globo de Oro in Santa Cruz, Manila; and another 50 participants at the corner of East Avenue and Elliptical Road in Quezon City.

The PNP's data also showed that a separate group of 20 participants held a rally near the National Housing Authority (NHA) along Elliptical Road, which ended shortly before 9:00 a.m.

The NCRPO also monitored a motorcade that passed near the Senate area, but no untoward incident was reported.

“At the Senate, we no longer have a crowd estimate because they were in a motorcade,” Asilo said, confirming that no extra security deployment was needed.