Maian Ailah Dizon, the poet behind the international best-selling collection, In Our Time of War, was among the casualties of the recent air strike in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, Philippines.

In a recent report from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Maian's death was ruled to be an "unjust exercise of stifling the freedom of speech and expression" after she was found shot down by a bullet from a CLG-093 long-range rifle. Videos from the war drones circulated online, showing a sniper hiding in the seventh floor of a building owned by SFIL Trading Corporation, 800 meters from where Dizon was last seen.

"Nag-ingat kami na walang nakakaalam n'ung mga ginagawa namin hanggang sa natapos [ni Dizon] yung manuscript," a source close to Dizon who wishes to remain anonymous said in the latest interview. "Pero sinusundan na siya ng PLP bago pa n'ya maipasa sa'kin yung manuscript para sa unang review."

(We took great care to not let anyone know of our activities until after [Dizon] completed the manuscript. She was closely monitored by the PLP [the invaders' militia group] before she passed me the manuscript for the first review.)

"Kahit ako rin. On my way to Indonesia kasama yung final manuscript ni Maian, sinundan din nila ako," the source continued. "They're not even trying [to hide] it. Gusto nilang malaman ni Maian, malaman ko, at malaman ng lahat, that they control everything that goes out of the country. Everything."

(Even me. On my way to Indonesia with Maian's final manuscript, they were following me. They're not even trying to hide it. They want her, me, and everyone to know that they control everything that goes out of the country. Everything.)

Fellow Filipino creatives including Andres "Andoks" Cerezo, the 86th Palanca Memorial Awardee for Full-Length Screenplay, and Catelly Laurente-David, a National Artist for Literature, expressed their condolences to the Dizon family. Cerezo, in an open letter posted across social media sites, referred to Maian Dizon as "the hope of the Filipino youth extinguished too early" and her passing as "one of the greatest losses in the generation raised by war".

Maian Dizon, 22, was survived by her remaining family and partner and later interred in the Eternal Gardens Memorial Cemetery following a private ceremony with friends and family.

Her poetry collection, In Our Time of War (stylized: in our time of war), offers a unique view of a young woman in the midst of war, detailing the everlasting themes of love, family, and survival in a contemporary world of struggle and destruction. Six months after its release, the collection has sold more than 500 thousand copies worldwide.

The PLP, who began the Philippine Invasion in 2040, has received several cessation calls from the United Nations Assembly, inciting heavy incursions on basic human rights including freedom of speech and violating the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines. Amidst the simultaneous territorial wars all over Northeastern Asia and the Western Hemisphere, the US President has called for ceasefire and bilateral resolutions. ■