Mindanaoan rap collective Morobeats, The Ransom Collective’s Jerms, Toneejay, and many other Filipino artists gathered at the GT-Toyota Asian Center Auditorium at the University of the Philippines Diliman to celebrate Filipino-Palestinian friendship at Viva Palestina! A Solidarity Fair for Justice and Freedom.
Viva Palestina, held on March 22, was a full day of discussions, workshops, and performances by Filipino artists and activists. The fair started with the forum, “Palestine and the Philippines: The Struggle for Self-Determination and Liberation.” Here, UP Diliman Asian Center Dean Noel Christian Moratilla, Philippines‑Palestine Friendship Association (PPFA) President Dr. Delen dela Paz, BAYAN International Officer Sarah Raymundo, and Venezuela Charge d’Affaires Richard Lobo discussed the shared struggles of the Palestinian and Filipino peoples under imperialism.
The event is a build-up to the March 30 commemoration of the Great March of Return, situating “local solidarity within a global call to end occupation, lift the blockade on Gaza, and uphold the right of return of refugees,” according to the PPFA.
In the afternoon, several advocacy groups held different workshops and discussions simultaneously, tackling issues such as famine and food sovereignty, culture and media for liberation, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.
The human rights alliance Karapatan and the feminist social enterprise Pinay Collection also held a talk on political prisoners in Palestine and the Philippines, followed by a workshop where participants wrote letters to political prisoners. During the discussion, Lumad educator Julieta Gomez and writer Amanda Echanis also gave testimonies about their arrests, trumped-up charges, and red-tagging.
During the solidarity concert, Echanis also read Palestinian poet Fadwa Tuqan, “Hamza,” a poem about the resilience of Palestinians, personified by an ordinary man named Hamza, in the face of grief and destruction. Echanis had translated the poem into Filipino for the poetry collection, ‘Pagkat Tayo Man ay May Sampaga: New Philippine Writing and Translation for a Free Palestine.
Echanis read, “Ang lupaing ito na hitik sa mga palmera at pataba sa lupa / ay siya ring lupa na nagsisilang ng mga mandirigmang-bayan / Kung gayon, ang lupa, kapatid ko, ay ang ating ina!”
The evening also featured notable performances, from Jerms’ R&B set and acoustic serenades by Toneejay and The Jerks’ Chickoy Pura, to the energetic, percussion-driven set by the music collective Anima Tierra. To cap off a night of celebration, DJ Medmessiah and the rest of Morobeats took to the stage to deliver an electrifying set, which included the crowd favorite, “Anak Ka ng Pu.” Like many of the other speakers and performers throughout the day, Morobeats also led chants calling for a free Palestine.
