PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged Filipinos to uphold the country's sovereignty and protect the people's rights and freedoms.

In a speech during the observance of the 77th year of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), Duterte paid respects to Filipino and United States (US) forces who lost their lives during the war against Japan on April 9, 1942, and the subsequent Long March, in Bataan to defend the Philippines' democracy,