07/03/2026
๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ฃ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐ข๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง
War has no winners, but it guarantees a definite, devastating loss. In another act of affront against humanitarian regulations and the integrity of international diplomacy, the US-Israel war machine's bombing of Iran has continued its exercise of serial violence at the cost of innocent lives. The global hegemon that is the United States of America has long been lording over its military power implanted across multiple territories for malicious interventions and acts of aggression under the guise of benevolence. As early as 1898, the US has subjected several countries in Latin America to forced regime changes, often scarring countries with power vacuums or bringing forth US-backed authoritarian rulers (Neuman 2026; Coatsworth, 2005). US intervention also has entrenched itself in Middle East affairs even before the war-inciting attacks of today in the interest of influence, ally aid, and resources such as oil (Council on Foreign Relations, 2024). With this, it is clear that the USโ legacy of tactical endeavors on the global scene has long reeked of utter disregard for the consequences of the violence that it used to carve its path to domination.
Recently, joined with the force of Israel, the US extended its patterned behavior of unlawful strafes through coordinated strikesโcodenamed Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Furyโon Iran last February 28, 2026 (Observer Research Foundation, 2026) that has since been escalating. โPreemptiveโ is the wolf-cry but history can chronicle the aggressorsโ deceptive use of diplomacy and insistence on falsified imminent threat. The US director of national intelligence confirmed just last year that Iran was no longer actively garnering nuclear weapons which was later confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (Brincat & Caรกceres, 2026). Still, the following days have witnessed a series of retaliatory attacks including one in southern Iran that caused the deaths of 150 lives, including children (UNESCO, 2026) which was succeeded by several other strikes affecting the gulf regions of the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain. Today, the buzz of drones echo over once lively homes, busy schools, and the rubbles of revered histo-cultural sites as the global hegemonsโ trail of bloodshed sweeps across families and communities including that of our fellow Filipinos.
The University of the Philippines Speech Communication Association (UP SPECA) strongly condemn this orchestration of serial violence that operates with terrifying, unbridled impunity. The global community is forced to spectate a deeply fractured international order where the US-Israel war machine answers to no one but Uncle Sam. At the heart of this geopolitical charade is the United Nations itself. With the US relentlessly clutching its permanent seat and vehemently wielding its veto power as a weapon of absolute absolution, what may seem like the arena of global diplomacy is reduced to farcical theatrics (UN News, 2025). It is a rigged game where hegemonic powers insulate themselves from consequence, maintaining an institution fundamentally paralyzed and making a complete mockery of international law.
What the global hegemon refuses to acknowledge amidst its belligerent campaigns is how this machinery of war does not idle in a vacuum. Its shockwaves strike violently close to Filipino homes. We harbor profound distress for the hundreds and thousands of OFWs structurally tethered to the Middle East. While the Marcos Administration and the Department of Foreign Affairs feign competence in expeditiously issuing empty promises, these responses cannot obscure the grim reality that OFWs are unjustly ensnared in the crosshairs of conflicts they had no hand in engineering (Cabalza et al., 2026). With a confirmed casualty and over two million more thrust into imminent peril, the Philippine government must be aggressively compelled to move beyond lip service and guarantee the survival of the very diaspora it so proudly exports (South China Morning Post, 2026).
Yet, our outrage and grief do not stop at our own borders. We extend our deepest sympathies to the countless civilians across the region whose ancestral lands, homes, and futures are being reduced to ash by these relentless bombardments. We stand in fierce, unyielding solidarity with all the peoples of the Middle East who bear the brutal, daily brunt of this imperialist aggression.
In this crisis, we cannot afford the luxury of silence. We urge the public to cultivate vigilance against these imperialist campaigns. Let us actively educate ourselves, resolutely resist the normalization of state-sponsored terror, and amplify the demand for genuine accountability in our collective pursuit of an immediate and enduring peace.
PHOTOS | Reuters (Background), Jim Lo Scalzo (Lower Image)
