CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 12 Feb) — The military has confirmed the death of Myrna Sularte, better known by her nom-de-guerre “Maria Malaya,” wife of slain New People’s Army leader Jorge Madlos, in an encounter with Army troops in Butuan City Wednesday (February 12).
Brig. Gen. Michele B. Anayron Jr., commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said Sularte was killed in an encounter with soldiers of the 30th Infantry Battalion about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday in Sitio Tagulahi, Barangay Pianing, about 13 kilometers east of downtown Butuan.
Anayron said Sularte was identified by former rebels who viewed her body at the encounter site, pointing out the missing front teeth and white hair.
“By all indications the body was that of Sularte,” he added.
Sularte was hunted by the military across the Caraga Region after the death of her husband, a.k.a. Ka Oris, in Bukidnon in October 2021, according to the 4ID public information office.
Lt. Col. Francisco Garello, 4ID spokesperson, said Sularte was the secretary of the NPA Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee and a member of the political bureau of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
“We have finally brought an end to the reign of terror in Caraga, led by Malaya, one of the wanted NPA commanders in the country,” Anayron said.
He said Sularte was the lone casualty in the 15-strong NPA band who clashed with soldiers in the mountainous village of Tagulahi.
Anayron said that before the final battle Wednesday afternoon, the NPA band led by Sularte figured in a series of encounters with government soldiers early Wednesday morning.
He said five 10-man Army combat teams searched the NPA rebels trying to escape the Army dragnet.
Garello said Sularte had multiple criminal cases—multiple murder, double homicide, kidnapping, frustrated murder—filed against her in various courts in the Caraga Region. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
