Top NPA amazon slain in Agusan del Norte clash

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – The alleged highest female official of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed in an encounter in the hinterlands of Butuan City in Agusan del Norte on Wednesday afternoon.

Myrna Solarte, alias Maria Malaya, was reportedly the secretary of the defunct Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee of the NPA based in Caraga and a member of the political bureau of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Solarte had a P5.6-million bounty on her head, according to the military.

She was the widow of the late NPA leader Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, who was killed in an encounter in Bukidnon in October 2021.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido described Solarte’s death as a mark of a new era and a beacon of hope in the quest for lasting peace and progress not just in Mindanao, but in the entire country.

Lt. Col. Francisco Garello Jr., chief of the Army’s public affairs office based in this city, said the firefight between soldiers of the Army’s 30th Infantry Battalion occurred in the mountainous area of Barangay Pianing.

Solarte was one of the most wanted rebel leaders, whose group reportedly committed numerous atrocities in Caraga and Northern Mindanao, according to Brig. Gen. Arsenio D.C. Sadural, chief of the Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade.

“We have finally brought an end to the (communists’) reign of terror in Caraga led by Malaya, a notorious leader of the communist terrorist group,” Sadural said.

He said Solarte was facing multiple criminal charges, including rebellion, arson, robbery, murder and kidnapping.

Maj. Gen. Michelle Anayron, chief of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said Solarte’s remains were recovered by troopers during clearing operations at the scene of the encounter.

Anayron said that former rebels who earlier surrendered to the military  positively identified the fatality as Solarte. – Michael Punongbayan, John Unson