FOURTH Infantry Division of the Army 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.
Brigadier General Mechelle Anayron, commander of the Army 4th Infantry Division said Sularte was killed in an encounter with soldiers of the 30th Infantry Battalion at about 1:20 pm, Wednesday in Sitio Tagulahi, Barangay Pianing, 13.8 kilometers from Butuan City.
Anayron said Sularte was identified by former rebels who viewed her body at the encounter site, the missing front teeth and white hair.
“By all indications, the body was that of Sularte. She was identified by former rebels and those missing front teeth,” Anayron said.
Sularte was hunted by the military across the Caraga region after the death of her husband, Madlos, in Bukidnon in October 2021, according to the 4ID public information office.
Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Garello, a 4ID spokesperson, said Sularte was the secretary of the NPA Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee and a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines' political bureau.
“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.
Anayron said Sularte was the lone casualty of a 15-man NPA band who encountered in the mountainous village of Sitio Tagulahi.
He added before that encounter, the NPA band led by Sularte figured in a series of encounters with the soldiers early Wednesday morning.
Anayron said five 10-man army combat teams searched the NPA rebels trying to escape the army dragnet.
Garello said Sularte has multiple criminal cases — multiple murders, double homicide, kidnapping, frustrated murder — filed against her in various courts in Caraga.
