THE Visayas Command (VISCOM) branded the CTG ‘a menace and a predator who preys on young minds’ following the confirmation that one of the NPAs killed in the recent armed encounter in Brgy Campagao, Bilar, Bohol was a young lawyer from Cebu.
Hannah Jay Cesista aka Maya and Lean, one of the five NPA terrorists who died in the armed encounter against the combined elements of the Bohol Provincial Police Office and the 47th Infantry Battalion on February 23, is the latest addition to the long list of victims of the CPP-NPA’s deception whose bright future is wasted fighting for the terrorist group’s selfish interest and false cause.
Lieutenant General Benedict M. Arevalo PA, the Commander of VISCOM expressed his sadness at the loss of another Filipino bright mind and his disgust for the terrorist group, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Hannah Jay, she could have been a good practicing lawyer, if not for the deception of the CPP-NPA. We express our heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones. The CPP-NPA is indeed a menace and a mindless predator who preys on young minds in our country.”
Hannah Jay is from Catubig, Northern Samar. She studied her preparatory course for law at the University of the Philippines – Cebu and completed her law degree at the University of San Carlos. She officially became a lawyer after passing the 2022 BAR Exam. She is an active member of Anakbayan Cebu, Karapatan Central Visayas, and later the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL). She became a ‘full-time’ member of the CPP-NPA on 2023.
“May this serve as a lesson to our youth and the parents as well. Let us be very vigilant in the activities of our children and the groups or organizations that they joined. The threat of CPP-NPA’s destructive recruitment of our youth is real. The terrorist group cares for nothing and will value nothing not even the welfare of their members. They will just use our children as a sacrificial lamb to foster their hideous agenda,” Lt. Gen. Arevalo emphasized.
He continued, as he encouraged the people to support the government’s call to stop the CPP-NPA’s recruitment of the youth, “In our good conscience, we cannot allow the CPP-NPA’s destructive recruitment to our youth to continue. We must work together to put a stop to the lies and deception of the terrorist group that led to the destruction of the bright future of our children.”
Lt. Gen. Arevalo then urged the remnants of the CPP-NPA to lay down their arms and return to the folds of the law, “One by one your leaders continue to fall to the long arms of justice. We will forever remain committed to push the fight to end the local communist armed conflict here in the Visayas region. Lay down your arms now and return to the folds of the law while you still can.”
