Joint SENTRO and LEARN Statement on the Philippine Walk Out at the UN

The Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) and Labor Education and Research Network (LEARN) commends the Philippine delegation for joining the walkout during Benjamin Netanyahu’s address at the United Nations.

For Palestinians, resistance is not an abstract issue. It is the struggle of a people refusing dispossession, occupation, and the denial of their right to determine their own future.

This unyielding courage must be the rallying cry for the international community as we continue to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

In this spirit, we recognize the Philippine government’s principled stand on this generation-defining question. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has expressed alarm over Israel’s settlement expansion and settler violence, saying these undermine the viability of a two-state solution.

The Philippines has also recognized the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

Our government should continue to give that principle meaning—not only in words, but by its actions on the international stage.

The walkout was a small act, but a powerful one. This must be the first step for the Philippines’ greater show of solidarity with the Palestinian people, and it must not be our only act of defiance against the genocidal actions of the state of Israel.

Palestine must not be erased. The Palestinian people must not be silenced. Genocide and occupation must not be normalized.

From the Philippines to Palestine, the struggle for freedom, self-determination, and justice continues.

Long live international solidarity!