Manila, Feb. 13 -- Philippine Army (PA) commander Lt. Gen. Roy Galido on Thursday said the death of ranking New People's Army (NPA) leader Myrna Sularte, alias Maria Malaya, will help bring peace and progress not only to Mindanao but also to the rest of the country.

"Her neutralization is the most sought-after justice of the loved ones of those countless innocent Filipinos whose lives were wasted as a result of the CTGs' (communist terrorist groups) deceptive, futile, violent, and self-serving power struggle to undermine the country's democracy," he said in a statement.

Sularte, secretary of NPA's Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), was killed in an encounter with soldiers in Barangay Pianing, Butuan City on Wednesday, acc...