Padilla, Bayan Muna slam inhumane treatment of Palestinians in Gaza

A Palestinian boy sits on a damaged couch as he watches people clearing the rubble from a house that was hit in Israeli strikes at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 18, 2025. Gaza’s civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 22 people were killed and at least 100 others wounded in a predawn attack on tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Al-Mawasi, in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Robin Padilla and Bayan Muna have slammed the ongoing inhumane treatment of Palestinians in occupied territories such as Gaza, where people continue to suffer from famine and attacks.

Padilla filed Senate Resolution No. 1366, seeking accountability for those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law, as the entry of aid into the occupied territories remains hindered.

“It is pertinent that we, as a nation, send a strong statement condemning the persistent and systematic killing of innocent lives, destruction of vital infrastructure, and obstruction of access to humanitarian aid, as these constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law,” Padilla said in a statement on Friday.

“The Philippines, as a member of the international community, must not remain silent while these atrocities continue unabated,” he added.

According to Padilla, he filed the resolution because the 1987 Constitution states that the Philippines renounces war and upholds international legal norms, including the protection of civilians during armed conflicts.

He also emphasized that the Philippines has been a key player in global human rights discussions, having ratified the 1949 Geneva Conventions and played an active role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

“Resolved, as it is hereby resolved, by the Senate of the Philippines to strongly condemn the continued inhumane treatment, deliberate starvation, and mass killings of Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, calling for the immediate protection of human rights, accountability for international humanitarian law violations, and the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid,” he added.

Since the latest round of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians began in October 2023, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 54,000.

Attacks and skirmishes continue to this day, with Palestinian health officials and witnesses reporting that Israeli forces fired on people heading toward an aid distribution last Tuesday, leaving at least 27 dead.

READ: Gaza officials say Israeli forces killed 27 heading to aid site

As early as May 2024, the head of the United Nations’ food program warned of a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza and reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas.

READ: UN food chief warns of ‘full-blown famine’ in northern Gaza

Former Bayan Muna lawmaker and party executive vice president Carlos Zarate criticized the United States’ recent veto of a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, accusing the US of complicity in the genocidal conditions in the area.

“The US veto is not just a diplomatic maneuver—it is a death sentence for thousands of Palestinian civilians trapped under Israel’s brutal bombardment,” Zarate said.

“While the US preaches peace in Ukraine and elsewhere, it bankrolls and shields Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, where over 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been slaughtered since October 2023 . This is the height of moral bankruptcy,” he added.

According to Zarate, the international community, including the Philippines, must bypass the US veto and move forward with efforts to achieve a ceasefire.

“The Global South must unite to isolate Israel and its enablers. The UN’s credibility is at stake—if the Security Council cannot act, the General Assembly must demand accountability under the Genocide Convention,” he said.

“[The Marcos administration should] send a clear message to Israel by extending its solidarity with the Palestinian people.  As a nation that has suffered colonial oppression, we cannot stay silent. The Philippine government must cut ties with Israel and demand justice for Palestine. The US veto exposes whose lives it values — and whose it discards,” he added./mcm