Chaba’s Journey — From Student Leader to Political Officer

Charisse Bernadine “Chaba” Bañez’s name once echoed in the halls of the University of the Philippines as a young activist brimming with passion and conviction. As a student leader, she quickly rose to prominence, serving as a Student Regent of the University of the Philippines and the Chairperson of the UP Los Baños University Student Council. Beyond campus, she became deeply embedded in the youth and student movement, as Secretary-General of Anakbayan and later Chairperson of the League of Filipino Students (LFS). Sharp, eloquent, and unyielding. She represented the archetype of student activists.

But her story did not end within the gates of the university. By 2017, Bañez made a life-altering decision when she went underground. Guided by seasoned cadres of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), she underwent what was described as “revolutionary integration.” Her initiation was an arduous twelve-hour trek through the mountains of Talaingod, Davao del Norte, where she immersed herself in the struggles of Lumad communities. It was here, according to accounts from former comrades, that Chaba shed the trappings of a student activist and embraced the life of a full-fledged guerrilla.

Over the years, Bañez climbed the ranks of the Party, eventually becoming the Secretary of the NPA Guerilla Front 56. Once a familiar face in student assemblies and protest marches, she had now become a high-profile figure in one of the country’s most enduring armed rebellions. Her transition from student leader to political officer is just one of many others that follow the same path.

Her journey, however, reached a dramatic turn earlier this year. On June 13, 2025, combined military and police forces captured her in Agusan del Sur, confirming her identity as “Nikki,” the alias she used while operating in the New People’s Army. It was a significant blow to the NPA’s regional leadership.

Charisse Bañez’s life raises the question: why do some of the country’s most brilliant and passionate youth leaders find themselves drawn into armed struggle?

Chaba represents a tragic outcome of a system that fails to harness youthful idealism in constructive ways. Her life story, stretching from the lecture halls of UP Los Baños to the rugged mountains of Mindanao, captures the struggle between the youth’s desire for change and the dangerous paths it may lead them to.