AFP sets sights on ‘Maria Malaya’ after ‘Ka Oris’

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 31. 2021): AFP sets sights on ‘Maria Malaya’ after ‘Ka Oris’ (By Jigger Jerusalem and Nef Luczon)

BRIEFING. Officials of the 4th Infantry Division and Bukidnon Provincial Police conduct a press conference on the death of Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos in Malaybalay, Bukidnon on Sunday (Oct. 31, 2021). Maj. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. (center), the 4ID commander, led the briefing. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)

Following the death of Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) leader Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is setting its sights on his wife, also a ranking official of the communist terrorist group.

Maj. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., commander of the 4th Infantry Division (4ID), appealed to Myrna Sularte, alias Maria Malaya, to surrender or suffer the same fate as his 72-year-old husband who was killed during an operation in Bukidnon on Saturday.

“There are still other (NPA) commanders, especially Malaya who is now operating in Caraga. She is the highest officer in Caraga,” Brawner told reporters during a news conference Sunday afternoon.

Brawner said Sularte wields control over the Northeastern Mindanao Committee in Caraga and conducts extortion activities.

Madlos was killed along with an NPA medic, Eighfel Dela Pena (alias Pika/Maui), in Sitio Gabunan, Barangay Dumalaguing, Impasugong town by combined troops from the 8th and 88th Infantry Battalions and 1st Special Forces Battalion.

As standard operating procedure, the cadavers were tested for Covid-19 and will be turned over to relatives.

The identities of the deceased were confirmed through physical identification by former NPA fighters, DNA tracing, and dental records.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

On the other hand, the National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and separate part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1158359