Philippines – Ang Bayan: 3rd Anniversary of the Al Aqsa Flood Commemorated

We hereby share an unofficial translation of a report by Ang Bayan published by Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) on October 9.

Progressive groups, led by the Philippines-Palestine Friendship Association (PPFA), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), and the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS)-Philippines, marched to the US embassy on October 7 to commemorate the third year of the Al-Aqsa Flood. At the same time, they condemned the ongoing brutal US-Israeli genocide against Palestine. Alongside millions of people around the world, they insisted on the call, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

The groups also condemned the US’s aggressive wars in Iran, Yemen, and Venezuela, as well as its threats and sanctions against Cuba. The action is part of the global “Days of Action” from October 1 to 10, initiated by People Against Sanction and Siege (PASS).

The groups declared their steadfast solidarity with the Palestinian people. They said that the Palestinian struggle has reached a new level with the launch of Operation Al Aqsa Flood, following decades of resistance against Zionist occupation and settler colonialism.

“The Al-Aqsa Flood not only ended any hope for Arab-Zionist normalization across West Asia, but the sacrifices of the Palestinian people and their resistance have also strengthened the stance of countries and mass movements struggling for national sovereignty and socialism against US imperialism,” according to ILPS-Philippines.

“Al-Aqsa shook the US-backed genocide and left a deep mark on people around the world,” according to the PPFA.

It criticized the “Board of Peace” established by US President Donald Trump for the alleged reconstruction of the destroyed Gaza. He staffed it with World Bank President Ajay Banga and the prime minister of the Zionist fascist State of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The powers responsible for the destruction of Gaza now want to profit from its reconstruction, selling a rosy picture of airports and towers, while Palestinians continue to fight for their right to return to their homes,” the group said.

The PPFA criticized the Marcos Jr. regime’s collusion with Zionist Israel, in the form of military and economic ties. From 2022 to 2024, the Philippines is the third-largest buyer of Israeli weapons.

“We see our own struggles in the fight of the Palestinian people for freedom and self-determination. Marcos Jr remains an accomplice in the genocide and pretends everything is normal by strengthening military and economic ties with Israel.

Meanwhile, students from Mindanao State University joined the actions that day.

“October 7, 2023, was not the beginning of the Palestinian struggle,” they said. For decades, Palestinians have lived under occupation, land theft, displacement, apartheid, and systemic violence. The 1948 Nakba, the ongoing occupation, the expansion of settlements, the siege of Gaza, and the repeated bombing of Palestinian communities are part of a longer history of injustice. “Therefore, what happened on October 7, 2023, must be understood within this history.”

“For us in Bangsamoro, the Palestinian struggle is not a distant one,” according to MSU4Palestine. “We see in their fight for freedom and self-determination the echoes of our own history.”