DAVAO CITY – Not minding the distance and the coronavirus disease pandemic, a mother from Metro Manila flew all the way to this city upon learning that her daughter who joined the communist rebel movement has been sighted in the hinterlands of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental.
Luisa Espina, the mother of Louvaine Erika, who was recruited by the New People’s Army (NPA) in 2018, said she decided to personally come to the city after confirming from a former rebel that her youngest daughter has been seen wandering with a band of rebels in the two provinces.
“I talked to the FR (former rebel), and I sent pictures of my daughter, and he positively identified Louvaine and told us that she was really there,” Espina told local reporters Wednesday.
Espina arrived in the city on January 23 and sought the help of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and local officials in Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental.
“I was told that she [Louvaine] was starving and had a swollen knee. I am hoping that I could find her and return her home,” she said.
Recruitment timeline
Espina described her daughter as a smart student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).
In 2016, while the 16-year-old student was still in Grade 11, she said Louvaine was recruited to the NPA by members of Anakbayan.
From there, Espina said her daughter began disappearing from their house frequently. She later found out her daughter had been attending rallies organized by leftist organizations.
“That’s the time my daughter changed. I noticed that her Facebook posts were already different as she was posting something that is anti-government,” she said.
Espina said she tried to get along with her daughter’s ideology, hoping she could keep her.
“For the sake of keeping my daughter, I agreed and allowed her to join rallies as long as it will happen only at the PUP. But she said she already chose a path and that she won’t go to school anymore because she is now facilitating recruits into the organization,” she added.
Espina said her daughter had not been seen home since 2018.
Three years after losing her daughter, Espina said she remains optimistic about finding her daughter.
“Our lives are no longer normal. I want my child back,” she said, adding that local officials in the two provinces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have already assured help in searching for Louvaine.
Espina is a member of the “Hands Off Our Children” group, composed of parents who accuse leftist organizations such as Anakbayan and Kabataan Party-list of facilitating their children’s recruitment into the NPA.
Along with the Communist Party of the Philippines, the NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)