A Kabataang Makabayan (KM) chapter in Northern Negros was established on March 9. The chapter was named after Comrade Emaren Pastidio, a woman Red fighter of the New People’s Army (NPA)–Northern Negros (Roselyn Jean Pelle Command) who was martyred in Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City, Negros Occidental on February 21, 2024.

Pastidio endured severe abuses in the hands of the 79th IB in 2018 and 2021. These included detention, abduction, torture, and rape. The military also kidnapped and hostaged her infant to force her and her husband to surrender.

According to KM–Northern Negros, naming the chapter after her is a swipe at the 79th IB. The group vowed that new generations of revolutionary youth will continue what she began. Metro Manila based KM–Kris Montañez and KM–John Paul Calica conveyed congratulations for the chapter’s founding.