DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The death of Ka Maria Malaya, aka Myrna Sularte, National Democratic Front Northeastern Mindanao spokesperson, in a gunfight between guerillas and government troops last February 12 in Butuan City, was touted by the military to have left a vacuum in the leadership of the communist revolution.
But the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), in a statement, said its revolutionary forces in Caraga region “has no dearth in veteran and young cadres who are more than capable of picking up the mantel of Ka Maria’s leadership and carrying forward her legacy.”
The CPP paid tribute to Malaya, while grieving for their loss, but saluted “her heroism to persevere in the difficult path of revolution that she trudged throughout her life.”
Malaya could have opted to live a better life in the 1970s, having finished a college degree in agro-technology. The military reported that the Bayugan-born Sularte graduated from Northern Mindanao Institute of Science and Technology (now Caraga State University). But she joined instead the revolutionary movement during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, a path chosen by many youth activists who dared to challenge the oppression and corruption of the Marcos regime.
“She was an iron-willed communist fighter who indefatigably defended the rights of the peasant tillers to their land, the rights of the Lumad people to their ancestral domain, and the rights of workers to just wages and better working conditions,” the communist party’s statement said.
Malaya was a member of the Central Committee and Political Bureau, and of the Mindanao Commission, and served as secretary of the Northeast Mindanao Regional Party Committee, aside from being the spokesperson of the NDF in Northeastern Mindanao.
She worked closely with her husband, the late Jorge Madlos, also knows Ka Oris, spokesperson of the National Democratic Front Mindanao for nearly four decades, and later also as spokesperson of the New People’s Army. Oris was killed on October 29, 2021 by the military in Impasugong, Bukidnon.
READ: https://davaotoday.com/politics/ndfp-claims-ka-oris-died-in-ambush/
Malaya and Oris also became a focus of media coverages as one of the rare revolutionary couple who endured hardships through many decades. They were among the people featured in an 1988 international award-wining documentary A Rustling of Leaves, which showed the political crossroads of the nation post-EDSA revolution.
The CPP said that Malaya was “a military cadre par excellence…Under Ka Maria’s unwavering leadership, the NPA and the people waged an unyielding struggle against the destructive and exploitative mining companies, plantations and ecotourism projects which drove the toiling masses away from their communities and devastated the environment.”
Ka Maria Malaya had urged the NDF-Government peace talks to take a stand against large-scale. In a statement she called out mining companies Taganito and Platinum Gold Metal Corporation that she said had ravaged the natural resources in Caraga region and shortchanging its tax payments to the government.
The NPA units in Ka Malaya’s have staged actions against private armies and captured soldiers whom they released as goodwill measures for the peace talks.
Malaya also advocated for children’s rights, which she pushed for in the agenda of the peace talks. She espoused more programs for children which the NDF adopted in their communities.
The Communist Party hailed Malaya for her role in the movement for nearly six decades. “She unfailingly fulfilled her duties as Party cadre and leader of the NPA, even when she was diagnosed with cancer which she managed for more than two decades through a disciplined regimen of proper food and treatment,” the party said.
Malaya withstood many aspects of the struggle. Aside from the death of her husband, Ka Oris, his son and daughter-in-law, who were also with the NDF, were captured and killed in Impasugong in 2022.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines have targeted the capture of Malaya after Oris’ death. The Eastern Mindanao Command said they had tried to persuade Malaya to surrender in the past months.
As tribute, the CPP compared Malaya to her favorite flower: “Ka Maria captured the elusive beauty of rare orchids and flowers, their vibrant colors bursting forth amid the green forest of guerrilla camps. “
The party extends its condolences to Malaya’s surviving daughter, to her family and comrades. “She lived a fruitful revolutionary life and gave her all in serving the Filipino people’s cause of national and social liberation,” the group said. (davaotoday.com)
CPP, Ka Maria Malaya, peace talks
