By Chris V. Panganiban
Inquirer Mindanao
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — For nearly nine years, the aliases “Ka Amihan” and “Sandara Amihan” surfaced in media reports as the voice of the communist rebel movement in several major insurgency-related incidents in Caraga.
These included the seizure of civilians, an accidental roadside bombing that injured two motorists and a raid in which 14 government personnel were taken captive.
The woman behind those aliases, former Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee secretary Elena Estaniel Rambuyon, 56, has surrendered to the military in Surigao del Sur.
Rambuyon surrendered on July 24 at the headquarters of the Army’s 3rd Special Forces Battalion in Barangay Saint Christine, Lianga town, according to the military.
She was identified as a former secretary of the NEMRC, the regional organization of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, in northeastern Mindanao.
Brig. Gen. Benjamen Leander, commander of the Army’s 401st Infantry Brigade, said Rambuyon had been on “lie-low” status since November 2025. The military said she surrendered because of safety concerns and sustained government operations that had restricted rebel movements.
Rambuyon was presented on Tuesday to Agusan del Sur Gov. Santiago Cane Jr. Military officials described her as the “last woman standing” of the NEMRC, which had operated mainly in Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur.
In an interview with Alexis Cabardo of PTV 8 Agusan del Sur, Rambuyon said the NEMRC had been dismantled, with many members killed or having surrendered.
She said she had spent 39 years in the armed struggle, married while in the movement and bore five children whom she had not seen for a long time.
Provincial officials pledged to assist her through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program, which provides qualified former rebels with financial, livelihood and reintegration support. Her nearly 30 criminal cases in Caraga will also be processed for possible amnesty, officials said.
Voice in rebel incidents
Years before her surrender, Rambuyon had become known to journalists as “Ka Amihan,” an NPA spokesperson who issued statements on insurgency-related incidents in Caraga.
This reporter interviewed her by mobile phone in connection with two incidents in 2017.
In May that year, speaking as spokesperson of NPA Front 14, Rambuyon confirmed the release of small-scale gold mining operator Carson Ceasar “Abud” Lademora after communist rebels held him for two days.
Lademora and his aide, Leonardo Cacao, were taken after NPA members raided mining tunnels in Rosario, Agusan del Sur. Rambuyon said Lademora was released after rebels found insufficient evidence linking him to counterinsurgency activities. She denied that ransom had been paid.
Three months later, Rambuyon again spoke as Ka Amihan, this time as spokesperson of NPA Front 19, after a rebel-planted improvised explosive device mistakenly struck a civilian vehicle in Barangay Amontay, Marihatag, Surigao del Sur.
The blast seriously injured motorists Philip Silva Medrano of Tandag City and Joel Silyares of Butuan City.
Rambuyon said the intended targets were patrolling soldiers and police officers, but the explosive was detonated as the civilians’ vehicle passed. She said the group would compensate the victims.
The alias “Sandara Amihan” surfaced again in December 2018 after NPA rebels raided a military patrol base in Barangay New Tubigon, Sibagat, Agusan del Sur.
Reports said two soldiers and 12 militiamen were taken. Amihan told RMN-DXBC that the 14 captives were being treated as prisoners of war.
The rebels also reportedly seized high-powered firearms, ammunition and communications equipment. The military later formed a board of inquiry to determine how the detachment had been overrun without resistance.
Those statements established Rambuyon as one of the more recognizable rebel voices in Caraga years before her surrender.
###
