Baybay city: A mother has renewed her call for her rebel daughter to surrender to authorities following the death of her common-law husband, a ranking New People's Army (NPA) leader, in a clash in an upland community in Baybay City, Leyte.

According to Philippines News Agency, a video shared on Friday by the Philippine Army's 93rd Infantry Battalion shows Helen Nuevo urging her daughter, Reynalene Fuentes, to leave the communist insurgents after the death of her partner. Nuevo emphasized the need for her daughter to come home alive to be with her child, expressing deep concern for her safety.

Fuentes' common-law husband, Erwin Murillo Maceda, also known as Romnick, was killed during a brief encounter with troops from the 93rd Infantry Battalion in the upland Caridad village in Baybay City on September 8. Maceda was identified by the Army as the vice team leader 1 of the Island Committee under the NPA's Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee, and a native of Las Navas, Northern Samar.

The couple had a child six years ago while living in the mountains, who is now under the care of Nuevo in their hometown of Kananga, Leyte. An emotional Nuevo disclosed reports of the harsh conditions her daughter faces, suggesting it is time for her to return home, highlighting the lack of food resources in the mountains.

Reynalene Fuentes joined the NPA as a teenager, influenced by her father, an NPA fighter, who convinced her to join the armed struggle.

Lt. Col. Celeste Frank Sayson, commander of the 93rd Infantry Battalion, stated that the recent death of the ranking NPA leader has considerably weakened the remaining insurgents on Leyte Island. He noted that only 11 strugglers remain, detailing the scarcity of their resources and the limited movements they face due to the military's strategic operations in the area near the clash site.