October 29, 2026
Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) joins the overwhelming majority of the international community in applauding Cuba’s courageous victory at the United Nations General Assembly, where 130 countries voted in favor of ending the decades-long economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba.
On October 28, 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/81/7, with 130 countries voting in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstaining. Despite sustained diplomatic pressure from Washington, the international community once again affirmed its opposition to the U.S. blockade, continuing a longstanding position expressed through UN resolutions since 1992.
This victory is particularly significant in light of allegations raised by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla that the United States sought to intimidate governments into withdrawing their support for Cuba. According to the Cuban government, these pressures included threats of punitive trade tariffs, suspension of bilateral assistance and cooperation programs, visa restrictions against government officials and their families, economic sanctions, support for political opposition, interference in elections, and political destabilization.
PLM condemns such coercive measures and reaffirms its solidarity with the Cuban people in defending their sovereignty, independence, and right to self-determination.
THE PHILIPPINES’ DISGRACEFUL NON-VOTE
While the majority of the world stood with Cuba, the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. failed to register a vote on this historic resolution.
This marks a reversal from the Philippines’ longstanding support for resolutions calling for an end to the U.S. blockade, including its affirmative vote in 2025. Although officially recorded as a non-vote rather than a formal abstention, the Marcos administration’s failure to cast a vote amounts, in political terms, to an abstention and a retreat from a principled position the Philippines has upheld for decades.
Even Japan, a close U.S. ally, voted in favor of the resolution. Within ASEAN, nine member states, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste, supported Cuba. Only the Philippines and Myanmar failed to register a vote.
For PLM, the Marcos administration’s failure to uphold the Philippines’ longstanding position raises serious questions about the independence of Philippine foreign policy and its growing subordination to Washington’s military and strategic interests.
The presence of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Philippines during the UN vote casts a sharp spotlight on Washington’s influence over the Marcos administration. Given the U.S. campaign to pressure governments into changing their votes, we must assume that Hegseth also exerted pressure on the Marcos administration. The government must break its silence, explain its non-vote and account for this reversal of decades of Philippine diplomatic policy.
PLM demands that the Department of Foreign Affairs publicly explain why the Philippines failed to cast its vote in support of ending the U.S. blockade against Cuba.
The Filipino people deserve an independent foreign policy grounded in national sovereignty, solidarity among nations, and respect for the right of all peoples to determine their own future without foreign coercion.
PLM stands in solidarity with the Cuban people and joins the international call for the immediate and unconditional lifting of the U.S. economic, commercial, and financial blockade.
END THE U.S. BLOCKADE OF CUBA!
DEFEND NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY AND THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!
¡VIVA CUBA! ¡CUBA SÍ, BLOQUEO NO!
Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM)
(Photo from Cancillería de Cuba.)