BACOLOD CITY – The family of 26-year-old Jhon Isidor Supelanas, an activist and New People's Army member from Cebu City, is mourning his death in an encounter with soldiers in Kabankalan City, Negros Oriental on April 27.
Also known as Dee or Dalia, Supelanas was a former student leader and communications student at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Cebu.
Sister Izzy shared their grief on social media, expressing sorrow not only over Jhon’s death but also over the difficult life he led.
“We’re not just mourning because he’s gone, we’re grieving the way he died and the life he had to live leading up to that moment,” Izzy wrote on Facebook, lamenting the choices he made after leaving home.
Izzy criticized groups that publicized Jhon’s death for personal agendas, accusing them of exploiting his story and depriving the family of privacy.
“You used him and for what? To corrupt those innocent youths and let them serve your agendas? Enough is enough, let us mourn in peace,” she said.
Izzy thanked those who reached out, offered kind words, and sent their condolences. “It means a lot to our family right now,” she said.
She advised young people to think twice before leaving everything behind for promises that sound ideal but come with a price they may never be ready to pay.
“You may choose to leave your family, but if you return—sometimes, it’s no longer with your voice, your dreams, or your life. Just a name, a body, and heartbreak no parent should ever face,” she said.
Brig. Gen. Joey Escanillas, commander of the Army 302nd Infantry Brigade (IBde) urged parents to stay vigilant about their children’s school activities to prevent NPA recruitment.
He called for a collective effort to combat youth recruitment, emphasizing that social change should come through peaceful advocacy, not armed struggle.
“Let us stand and unite to stop the recruitment of the youth in the urban centers,” he said.
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) also expressed condolences, blaming the NPA for infiltrating schools and targeting idealistic students.
They vowed to continue to work alongside communities, universities, educators, and student leaders to end the communist armed conflict, expose recruitment networks, and protect the youth from being turned into casualties of a false revolution.
Meanwhile, the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office said that the death of Reniel Locsin Cellon, also known as Kumpol, who had four arrest warrants for murder and direct assault, and Charity Amacan, known as Cha, who also faced 11 arrest warrants for murder, helped resolve pending criminal cases and deliver long-awaited justice.
The NOPPO also reported that Mary Jane Maguilat, also known as Shonie, has an outstanding warrant for violating Batas Pambansa Bilang 881 (Omnibus Election Code), as amended by Republic Act 7166, in relation to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 9561-A.
These four individuals tagged as remnants of the dismantled South West Front of the NPA were among the seven fatalities in the Guihulngan encounters on Labor Day.
Currently, the provincial police force is undertaking a thorough validation process to determine if the remaining fatalities have any existing criminal records within the province.
The police and military pledged to intensify efforts against insurgency and maintain peace in the region and urged remaining rebels to abandon the armed struggle and seek a better path forward.
On May 2, a 42-year-old farmer and a former NPA rebel surrendered to the police in Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental.
Alex, from San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, surrendered a homemade revolver and received assistance, including cash and food supplies, from the government.
His surrender followed that of a 57-year-old ex-NPA militiaman days earlier in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.
