SINO NGA BA SI CHABA? Anakbayan member turned NPA

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𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐚 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐢 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐬—𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

In 2017, I was handed a list.

At the time, I served as the Political Officer of the NPA Sub-Regional Guerrilla Unit (SRGU) 5, the Sentro de Grabidad of Sub-Regional Committee (SRC) 5 under the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee. My task was to help identify, from among young activists, those who would undergo “revolutionary integration” (RI). RI is a process of immersing student leaders into the daily realities of the poor and marginalized communities within the guerrilla mass base of the New People's Army. The names on that list were not just entries on paper. They represented sparks—restless minds and committed hearts, driven by questions and a deep desire to make a difference.

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞: 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐢.

I did not know her personally; I chose her based on instinct. Later, I learned that she was the 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, a legal front organization of the CPP-NPA-NDFP, and also a fellow 𝑰𝒔𝒌𝒂 from the University of the Philippines.

We met in Sitio Bato, Barangay Dagohoy, in the mountain called Salagapunon of Talaingod, Davao del Norte. After a 12-hour-long trek, she arrived exhausted but smiling. Over a 3 in 1 Kopiko brown coffee, I told her about the realities in Talaingod. Our striving shadow government, the Salugpongan schools for children, mothers giving birth beside the river without access to healthcare, and Lumad communities caught between neglect and conflict. I was not sharing a concept. I was describing what we lived every day.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐍𝐏𝐀 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫.

(Left) Charisse Bernadine CHABA Bañez, also known as Nikki(Center) Kaliska Dominica Peralta, also known as Ka Recca, who died in an armed encounter on April 10, 2024, in Quezon, Bukidnon. (Right) Author

𝐎𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐢—𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐚ñ𝐞𝐳—𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐧, 𝐀𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐫. She now faces serious charges as the identified Secretary of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Just weeks earlier, another former student leader, Jhon Isidor Supelanas—also known as Dalia—was killed in an armed encounter. She had once led the UP Cebu Student Council and was affiliated with Kabataan Partylist. Two strong women. Both passionate about change. Both drawn into a protracted conflict.

There are no villains here. Only failed bridges.

These stories are not isolated. They reveal a deeper pattern: passionate youth leaders becoming vulnerable to recruitment by armed movements. This is not because they are naïve. It is because our institutions have not moved fast enough or deep enough to meet their idealism with real avenues for action.

This is not a call to erase their choices. It is a call to understand why those choices were made, and how we, as a society, can provide better ones.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨, 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝.

We need policies that actively protect young people from being lured into armed struggle. Not by suppressing their activism, but by providing them with meaningful participation in nation-building.

We need education that does not merely teach history, but helps the youth understand systems—how power works, how society functions, and how they can shape it through democratic means.

We need support systems in schools that recognize when students are in distress, whether mentally, politically, or emotionally, and know how to intervene with care rather than suspicion.

We need stronger development programs for indigenous communities and conflict-affected areas. These are communities that, for too long, have lived between the cracks. And in that in-between space, they have learned to depend on groups like the one I once served.

𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬—𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐛𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧, 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭—𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐲.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐢, 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞, 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞; 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧. 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡.

𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. We must open doors, not only through prisons or rehabilitation centers, but through real second chances that value life experience, transformation, and service.

This is not about forgetting the past. It is about choosing not to repeat it.

I do not say this out of regret. What we did then, we did because we believed in it. And in many ways, that belief came from a place of love for the people. But belief must evolve, just as the nation must.

Let the stories of Nikki and Dalia stir us—not into anger, not into fear, but into action. Let their lives remind us that the youth are never the enemy. They are the signal fire. And it is our responsibility to build a nation where their brilliance does not have to burn out on the battlefield, but instead shine in the halls of learning, service, and peace.

𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝.