BREAKING | US citizen linked to NPA, medic arrested in Laguna

CABUYAO CITY, Laguna — A US citizen previously linked to the New People’s Army in Mindoro has been arrested alongside an alleged medical officer of the communist armed group in Cabuyao City.

The Philippine Army identified the arrested individuals as Christina Pasion and Binay Serrano, alias Ka Samay.

According to initial reports, the two were arrested during an operation in Barangay San Isidro. Serrano was described as a medical officer of an NPA unit operating in Mindoro.

Pasion and Serrano were brought to the Cabuyao City Police Station for documentation and further legal proceedings.

Authorities have not yet disclosed the legal basis for the arrests, the specific charges they may face, or whether weapons and other materials were recovered during the operation. Kontra-Kwento has also not independently verified the circumstances surrounding their arrest.

From Mindoro to Laguna

Earlier reports said that Pasion was with Filipino-American Chantal Anicoche when the two entered an NPA unit for a tour-of-duty (TOD) in Occidental Mindoro in December 2025.

Anicoche later figured in military operations in Sitio Mamara, Barangay Cabacao, Abra de Ilog, following a series of armed encounters that began in January. She was found by government troops on January 8, while Pasion’s whereabouts were still unknown.

Clashes between the NPA and the military, including the January encounter in Abra de Ilog, exposed the presence of several other young women, including Jerlyn Doydora, Charlize “Ceeka” Garzon, and Stephanie Borinaga, among armed NPA members in Mindoro.

In an earlier Kontra-Kwento report, the cases were cited as evidence of a pathway through which young activists allegedly moved from legal organizations into underground work and eventually into armed NPA units.

Months of uncertainty

Pasion’s whereabouts had remained uncertain since the January operations.

In April, the Philippine Army publicly called on the NPA to release her after troops reportedly recovered handwritten notes indicating that she was suffering from severe emotional distress. The Philippine News Agency reported that the military believed she was still with the armed group in Occidental Mindoro at the time.

Kontra-Kwento also discussed Pasion’s case in a June report on the CPP’s expanding international solidarity work. The report examined how Filipino youth overseas may enter activist and solidarity networks before some are drawn toward deeper underground involvement and armed struggle in the Philippines.

Her reported arrest in Laguna is the first public confirmation of her whereabouts since she disappeared from the Mindoro operations.

The case again raises difficult questions about the recruitment of Filipino youth abroad and the networks that may facilitate their transition from open activism to armed units operating in conflict areas.

This is a developing story.

This story has been updated to clarify that Pasion is a U.S. citizen.