Wilma Tiamzon raises a clenched fist after she and her husband Benito Tiamzon, along with five others, were transferred Sunday to the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame. KRISKEN JONES, INTERAKSYON.COM
The chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday said the arrest of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, ranking communist rebels, will boost the campaign to end decades of violence, even as he urged all their followers to realize once and for all “the futility of armed struggle” and pursue options for change through peaceful means.
Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said the arrest of Benito Tiamzon, alleged chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army in Carcar, Cebu on Saturday afternoon is important in bringing justice to the victims of NPA-perpetrated violence, noting that as CPP-NPA chief, Tiamzon had “directed” operations involving “land-mining and killing” that had killed thousands.
The Saturday operation’s success has strengthened, added Bautista, “our resolve” to pursue justice for victims of the violence unleashed by the communist rebels.
In many parts of the country, he lamented, “insurgents have lost their ideological moorings and degenerated into banditry.”
Hopes Tiamzons’ arrest will lead to peace deal
At the same time, Bautista said they hope the arrest of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon will lead to a more serious negotiation on the part of the self-exiled rebel leaders in Utrecht, contrary to fears raised in some quarters that the arrest disrupts an already stalled peace process.
“The arrest of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon does not change our basic stance that peace negotiations with the CPP/NPA can only proceed with a clear and time-bound agenda that provides some possibility of bringing us closer to a final peace agreement,” Bautista said at a news conference Sunday afternoon in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
“We continue to hope that the leadership of CPP-NPA will come to the same conclusion sooner rather than later,” he added.
He said the couple and their five co-accused were “placed under the DOJ’s jurisdiction for inquest. The couple was charged for multiple murder originally issued by Branch 18 in Hilongos, Leyte but now transferred to Manila RTC (regional trial court) Branch 32 under Judge Mario Dela Cruz,” Bautista said.
The Tiamzons and their companions on board Starex van and Innova vehicles were flagged down by elements of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) and the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) at around 3:15 p.m. in Barangay Zaragosa, Aloguinsan, Cebu. They were immediately brought to the headquarters of the Central Command (Centcom) in Cebu City for interrogation.
“Benito is the Chairman of the CPP/NPA while his spouse, Wilma Tiamzon, is the Secretary General of the CPP/NPA. They were arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest for their crimes against humanity that include multiple murders. They are currently undergoing processing and documentation for legal disposition,” Bautista said.
The AFP named the five others captured with the couple as Rex G. Villaflor, a resident of Makati City; Nona C. Castillo, of Consolacion, Cebu; Joel E. Enano, of Buhatan, Sorsogon; Jeosi M. Nepa, of Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu; and Arlene J. Panea, of Mactan, Cebu.
Confiscated by the joint police-military team were a Colt cal. 45 pistol with defaced SN; Norinco 9mm pistol with SN 9801585; Kimber 9mm pistol with SN 881970; Smith & Wesson cal .357 revolver with SN 668880; 3 magazines and 17 rounds of ammunition for cal .45; magazine and 19 rounds of ammunition for 9mm pistol; 6 rounds of ammunition for cal .357; and 2 hand grenades.
The OR/CR of the 2008 Grey Hyundai Starex Van bearing plate number MDN-171 showed it was owned by Villaflor with address 4109 Catanduanes Street, Barangay Pitogo, Makati City.
The OR/CR of the 2009 Black Toyota Innova Wagon bearing plate number YGY-897 showed it was owned by Darlon David C. Lenares, of Poblacion, Dalaguete, Cebu.
Also confiscated were four laptop computers, 16 cellular phones and 20 flash drives/USBs.
After the conference in Camp Aguinaldo, CIDG director Chief Supt. Benjamin Magalong confirmed the arrival of the Tiamzons and the five others at the PNP’s Custodial Center.
He said the rebels underwent medical check-up and documentation before being escorted to their detention cells.
Reprisals expected
In ambush interview, Bautista said they expect retaliatory attacks from the NPA following the arrest of their leaders.
“We are always on red alert. We are expecting that in the coming days,” he said.
‘Victory for peace, justice for victims of violence’
As far as he is concerned, Bautista said the arrest of Tiamzons “is another victory” for AFP and PNP and “other stakeholders in pursuit of peace and security.”
“We will then continue to strengthen our resolve to bring other criminals to justice in honor of the victims of the violence perpetrated by the CPP-NPA, and in honor of our people who deserve to live in a peaceful and developed society. We call on the rest of the CPP-NPA members to lay down their arms, abandon the armed struggle and return to the comfort of their families and join us in bringing peace and development to our nation,” he said.
According to military estimates, the Maoist-inspired, 45-year-old CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion, the longest in Asia, has claimed 30,000 lives.
“The New People's Army is down to about 4,000 guerrillas from more than 26,000 in the late 1980s,” Bautista said at Sunday’s briefing.
But at its recent 45th anniversary the CPP claimed the number of fulltime NPA fighters had risen to more than 10,000.
In a statement, the CPP said the Tiamzons and their companions were in Cebu “monitoring” the rehabilitation works of the CPP-NPA in Visayas when arrested.
NDF, OPAPP word war on JASIG claims
A separate statement from NDFP chief Luis Jalandoni condemned the arrest as illegal because he said the Tiamzons and the five others were all peace consultants of the NDFP.
But the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) dismissed Jalandoni’s claim and said the rebels were not covered by the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).
Bautista declined to comment on the JASIG issue.
“Any legal questions on the arrest and processing of the apprehended individuals will be answered by the Department of Justice including applicability of JASIG to their arrest,” he said.
“According to OPAPP, JASIG is not applicable to Wilma (who is the only one covered as claimed by NDFP) since she jumped bail in 1989,” he said, adding the multiple-murder charge against the couple “is in relation to the involvement of the Tiamzons in the brutal killing of 15 civilians in Inopacan, Leyte who they later buried in a mass grave that was discovered in 2006.”
“Tiamzon was then the Secretary of the Eastern Visayas Regional Committee when they murdered the civilians. Tiamzon began as a student activist and went on to organize labor unions in the 1970s. Tiamzon met his wife Wilma Austria in the underground movement and they bore a daughter.
“Tiamzon is the center of gravity of the CPP-NPA-NDF here in the Philippines as the Acting Chairman in lieu of Jose Maria Sison who is in Utrecht as Chairman Emeritus,” Bautista said.
Bautista said the suspects were undergoing documentation and related processes at the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and will remain at the PNP Custodial Center in the camp.
He said they were arrested on the basis of three arrest warrants involving multiple murder, frustrated murder and murder in Northern Samar and Metro Manila.
Earlier, authorities transferred under tight security Sunday afternoon the Tiamzons from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City to Camp Crame in Quezon City.
The military and police threw a tight cordon around Villamor---where the Tiamzons had been flown from Cebu after their arrest by a joint military-police team Saturday—as a convoy prepared to carry the couple to Crame shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday. Benito is the alleged chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army, and Wilma, the alleged secretary general of CPP-NPA.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/83291/tiamzons-arrest-boosts-bid-to-end-violence-unleashed-by-npa---afp-chief
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