Dahlia Supelanas ("Ka Dahlia")
Age 25 (born 22 Oct 1999)27 Apr 2025
Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental (Philippines)
Not reported
Dahlia was one of seven people killed during a clash with Philippine military forces. According to the authorities all were members of the New People's Army (NPA).
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – A trans woman activist and former student leader at the University of the Philippines Cebu was among seven individuals killed in what the military described as an armed encounter with suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Barangay Tapi, Kabankalan City, on Sunday, April 27.
[deadname] “Dee” Supelanas, a UP Cebu communications graduate, was identified by the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division as a political instructor for the NPA’s southwest front in the 6th District of Negros Occidental. The military said she was known in the underground movement as “Dalia.”
Also killed were Reniel Locsin Cellon, Mary Jane Maguilat, Charity Amacan, Jhonrey Mejares, Glenda Tinio Mejares, and a man identified only as Pitong.
Supelanas was remembered by fellow activists and former colleagues as a dedicated student leader who championed academic freedom and youth rights.
UP Cebu’s official student publication, Tug-ani, described her as a “defender of the oppressed” who took part in several national student alliances, including Anakbayan UP Cebu and the National Union of Students of the Philippines Cebu.
She served as University Student Council chairperson from 2019 to 2021, helped revive the student publication Lanog, and held roles in radio stations DYUP-Sugbo and DYCM. She also anchored local programs such as Youth on the March and Pugasan sa Kahanginan.
Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante-UP Cebu called her “a fearless leader and activist.”
Anakbayan UP Cebu also paid tribute to Supelanas as a “staunch leader of the masses,” praising her resistance to “inequality, militarization, and systemic oppression.”
https://philippinerevolution.nu/angbayan/cebuano-youth-honor-martyred-former-up-cebu-student/
https://www.bulatlat.com/2025/06/07/up-cebu-honors-dee-supelanas-kabankalan-7/
https://philippinerevolution.nu/2025/04/29/tribute-ka-daisy-a-flower-that-never-wilts/
https://x.com/kaubangbisay2/status/1980848091659137187
