Philippines: Orchids for Ka Maria Malaya, beloved hero and warrior of the oppressed masses

We hereby share a statement by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) published by the Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC).

The leadership and entire membership of the Communist Party of the Philippines, all Red fighters and commanders of the New People’s Army, and all revolutionary forces of the Filipino people, raise their clenched fists and pay tribute to Ka Maria Malaya (Myrna Sularte), one of the leading cadres of the Party and beloved warrior of the oppressed masses of workers, peasants and the Lumad people of Mindanao.

Ka Maria, 71, fought her last battle on February 12 in Barangay Pianing, Butuan City in a fierce encounter between the New People’s Army and the ruthless fascist forces of the 901st Infantry Brigade.

In behalf of the entire Party and all units of the New People’s Army, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines extends its deepfelt condolences to her daughter, loved ones and close comrades-in-arms. 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.

The Communist Party of the Philippines gives its highest honors to Ka Maria Malaya. We immortalize her name alongside the greatest heroes of the Philippine revolution. She was a member of the Central Committee and Political Bureau. She was a member of the Mindanao Commission and served as secretary of the Northeast Mindanao Regional Party Committee. Ka Maria also served as the face of the National Democratic Front in Northeast Mindanao.

Her revolutionary leadership and selfless sacrifice will forever be remembered and cherished. Her and revolutionary legacy will continue to inspire the people and their revolutionary forces to wage resolute resistance against the US-Marcos regime and its bloody reign of state terrorism.

The fascist enemy is mistaken in thinking that Ka Maria’s death has created a leadership void that will cripple the Party and revolutionary forces in Northeast Mindanao. In reality, the 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 Party has a well-established system of succession in place, ensuring continuity and stability of Party committees.

The Central Committee extols Ka Maria’s life of selfless service to the oppressed and exploited masses. She grew up in relative comfort having come from a middle-middle peasant family and successfully completing a college course on agrotechnology. She, however, chose the path of simple living and difficult struggle dedicated to the oppressed and exploited masses. Not for one moment did her commitment to the revolutionary cause waver. 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.

Ka Maria joined the Party in 1977, during one of the darkest moments of fascist rule under the then Marcos dictatorial regime. Over the past five decades, she performed various functions, leading revolutionary work both in the cities and rural areas, in both western and northeastern Mindanao.

Ka Maria was an ardent student of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. She assiduously applied the Party’s basic principles, policies and program to the concrete conditions of the people in Northeast Mindanao. At the same time, she studied the revolutionary experiences of Vietnam, China and other countries, as well as that of other regions in the country.

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. Over many years, she 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 one of the strongest pillars of the Second Great Rectification Movement in 1992, which she upheld and carried out without hesitation. In fact, it was Ka Maria who convinced Ka Oris about the correctness of the rectification movement. They would later work in tandem to carry forward the rectification movement to its fruition.

Ka Maria was a military cadre par excellence. She always ensured that the people’s war in the northeast region of Mindanao developed comprehensively, by combining the three elements of armed struggle, agrarian revolution and base building. 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.

She instilled in the NPA an unwavering resolve to combat all forms of oppression and to exact justice for all the crimes perpetrated by the fascists against the people. By defending the people’s rights against their oppressors and exploiters and fighting for their aspirations, the New People’s Army in Northeast Mindanao expanded its ranks with Red fighters coming from the ranks of workers, peasants, Lumad and intellectuals. Ka Maria led and inspired the Red fighters and revolutionary forces to firmly link up with the masses, and rouse them to collectively rise up as one body.

She inspired and helped organize the resistance of the Manobo lumad masses in defending their ancestral lands, and preventing the further aggression of “development projects”. For this, she earned the ire of the big bourgeois compradors and multinational corporations, who contributed funds to arm and train units of the enemy armed forces and paramilitary groups to fight the NPA, and “neutralize” Ka Maria.

She guided the revolutionary mass organizations in waging local mass struggles that are linked to the overall aim of the people’s democratic revolution. She threw her full support behind the Lumad masses in their efforts to establish their community schools and foster a self-reliant economy through initiatives to raise local agricultural production. She advocated for developing and transforming the most backward communities into vibrant centers of revolutionary activity.

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. Indeed, she lived a fruitful revolutionary life and gave her all in serving the Filipino people’s cause of national and social liberation.

As the blood of revolutionary heroes once flowed through Ka Maria’s veins, so does her blood now flow in the veins of a new generation of Party cadres and Red fighters. They are determined, as Ka Maria once was, to advance the people’s war from one stage to the next, towards complete victory.