Slain NPA spokesman buried

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines — Only a few people attended the burial of New People’s Army (NPA) spokesman Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, in Surigao City on Saturday.

Madlos’ brothers, Vicente and Rito, told The STAR over the phone yesterday that the fear of being associated with the rebellion could have prevented people from attending the burial.

In a statement, Madlos’ wife Myrna Sularte, alias Maria Malaya, said the death of her husband strengthened the resolve of the underground movement.

Sularte is the NPA spokesperson in Caraga.

“The life of the revolutionaries does not revolve in the life of Ka Oris. It is in the struggle of the masses, and the oppressed and victims of injustices. Counter-revolutionaries may kill all the pioneers, but the movement of the masses stays on,” Sularte said in the statement.

Madlos’ friend Fernando Almeda Jr. said that friends of the slain NPA official were probably afraid to be seen in the company of rebels.

“Some friends who knew Ka Oris better than we do have opted to stay home. These days are difficult times, knowing people get easily red-tagged without due process. They are probably afraid, knowing the stature of Ka Oris in the revolutionary movement,” Almeda, president of the Surigaonon Heritage Center, said.

Almeda was among the few friends of Madlos who attended the burial rites at the Surigao City Memorial Park.

Madlos was killed in an encounter with government security forces in Bukidnon on Oct. 30.