The New People’s Army (NPA)-Laguna (Cesar Batralo Command) bestowed the highest Red Salute on Susan Ritual (Ka Gemma), who was martyred in Barangay Bacong Sigsigan, Famy, Laguna on November 28. She was in the middle of conducting revolutionary activities in the barangay when she was killed by the 80th IB and 22nd DRC.

For over two decades, Ka Gemma dedicated her time, talent, and life to her fellow Dumagats, poor peasants, and other oppressed masses. “She will serve as an inspiration to her surviving comrades and the masses she had long lived with,” the NPA-Laguna stated.

Ka Gemma was born on October 13, 1984, in Dinamayanat, San Luis, Aurora, to a native Dumagat family of poor farmers. The hardships of life prevented her from getting an education. To help her family, she fled to the city at the age of 13 to work as a househelper.

In 2002, women soldiers she knew in her area convinced Ka Gemma to join the people’s army unit. “Facing a crisis in her first year of struggle did not deter her from continuing the fight. Ka Gemma carried on despite the challenges,” the unit’s tribute stated.

Over 22 years, she took various tasks as a platoon medic, squad leader, and deputy platoon leader in a large company unit, as well as a political guide and instructor. She carried out these responsibilities with determination. The unit also noted that even amid personal crises and the birth of her child, Ka Gemma fully embraced these tasks.

“Ka Gemma’s martyrdom does not mean the end of the great beginning, as the reactionary AFP-PNP and the US-Marcos II regime would like to project,” the unit stated. The unit added that Ka Gemma also belies the “insurgency-free” declaration in some towns in Laguna, such as Famy and Sta. Maria. Instead, the masses in these towns continue to support their army.

Contempt for the Martyr’s Remains

The family were prevented from retrieving Ka Gemma’s body for proper burial for almost a week. According to Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, the 80th IB and other military and police units have continued to inhumanely abuse the relatives of the martyr.

Soldiers abducted and held hostage Ka Gemma’s two siblings, Paulino and Sherlyn Ritual, who were trying to retrieve their sister’s body on December 2. The Philippine National Police (PNP)-Famy forcibly separated the Ritual family from their paralegals and subjected them to a 30-minute interrogation inside the Famy Municipal Police Station.

Ka Gemma’s relatives were later banned from speaking with their legal team, forced to board a police vehicle and taken to Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba City. Their whereabouts and well-being remain unknown.

The 91st IB also tried to deceive Paulino Ritual’s son and use him to secure the remains of his aunt. Paulino refused to have his son used this way.

The paralegals of Karapatan-Southern Tagalog also faced physical and verbal abuse from the police. These forces insisted on the fallacy that the group is causing disturbances when, in fact, they are assisting the Ritual family in properly retrieving the martyr’s remains.

State forces deliberately delayed and confounded the Ritual family’s and the humanitarian team’s efforts to retrieve Ka Gemma’s body. The group condemned the 80th IB and PNP for denying justice to the Ritual family and for mishandling the decomposing remains of their beloved relative.

Karapatan-Southern Tagalog demand that the AFP and PNP stop harassing the Ritual family. They also discouraged MCT Funeral Services from being an accessory to the crimes, violence, and twisted protocols of the 80th IB and Famy PNP, and to recognize Karapatan TK as the official paralegal for the peaceful retrieval of the martyr’s remains.