AFP on Cullamat daughter’s death: Senseless killings 'propagated' by Joma should end

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has expressed sympathies to the family of Bayan Muna lawmaker Eufemia Cullamat following the killing of her daughter, Jevilyn Campos Cullamat, during an encounter with security forces in Surigao del Sur on November 28. 

In a press statement, AFP spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo underscored that the senseless killings of Filipinos, allegedly "espoused and propagated by Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria ['Joma'] Sison" should come to an end. 

"We grieve deeply with the Bayan Muna representative and her family as we would for many Filipino families —including soldiers’— who have lost a father, a mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, or kin who died in this more than five decades of fighting," Arevalo said. 

"We can only pray for the many youth whose lives have been wasted by Sison’s deception and lies —including that of the daughter of the representative and other sorrowful mothers whose children have died or are now in the ranks of the NPA (New People's Army)," he added. 

Arevalo encouraged those who continue to fight or advocate for the "meaningless battle" to return to the folds of law, assist in peaceful and meaningful change and help heal the wounds that widely divided the Philippines. 

"There should not be another Jevilyn Cullamat or another Congresswoman Cullamat to suffer another loss for a senseless cause," Arevalo said. 

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Sunday claimed that the killing of Jevilyn in a military encounter is a product of the “fruitless armed conflict” perpetrated by “communist terrorists.”

A military report stated that the younger Cullamat was killed in a 45-minute gun battle in Barangay San Isidro in Marihatag. 

She was reported to have served as a medic of the NPA. The military said five high-powered firearms, explosives, and other documents and paraphernalia of the communist group were seized from Jevilyn. 

Jevilyn's mother, Representative Cullamat, said she was not surprised that her daughter joined the NPA because she saw and experienced the "abuses" of the state's forces. 

Cullamat warned that the recent incident could embolden the military to "spread lies" against the Bayan Muna and the Makabayan Bloc. —KG, GMA News