MANILA – Seventy-one year old Ka Maria Malaya, or Myrna Sularte before she joined the revolutionary group New People’s Army, died in a gunfight with the elements of the 901st Infantry Brigade on February 12 in Barangay Pianing, Butuan City.

The Philippine military claimed it sought for the surrender of Malaya but the latter chose to fight until the end.

In a statement sent to the media, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines paid tribute to Malaya. “Together with the toiling masses of the Caraga region, the revolutionary forces all over the country grieve over the loss of Ka Maria, but are also inspired by her heroism to persevere in the difficult path of revolution that she trudged throughout her life,” it said.

The CPP 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. Ka Maria also served as spokesperson of the National Democratic Front in Northeast Mindanao. 

‘A leader of the oppressed’

The CPP said Malaya could have chosen a comfortable life, having finished a college degree but “chose the path of simple living and difficult struggle dedicated to the oppressed and exploited masses.” 

“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 CPP said.

Malaya joined the CPP in 1977, during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

“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 group said.

The CPP said Malaya worked closely with her husband, NPA spokesperson Ka Oris, in “leading the Party and the NPA to achieve revolutionary breakthroughs in the course of waging protracted people’s war.”

“Ka Maria 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,” it added.

Favorite flower

The CPP offered orchids for Malaya, which it said was her favorite. 

“In fleeting moments of respite, Ka Maria captured the elusive beauty of rare orchids and flowers, their vibrant colors bursting forth amid the green forest of guerrilla camps. As she admired their charm, she would exclaim “makalibat!” (“stunning!”) giving her a sense of joy and fulfillment, which fueled her unwavering dedication to the revolution.”

The military claimed that the death of Malaya has left a vacuum in the CPP leadership. The CPP, however, said that the Northeast Mindanao 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.”