BY JOSEPH PEDRAJAS, JEFFREY DAMICOG
A Quezon City court convicted on Friday Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon of kidnapping with serious illegal detention in relation to the 1988 abduction of four soldiers in Quezon province.
In a 19-page decision, Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 216 Judge Alfonso Ruiz II found the Tiamzon couple “guilty beyond reasonable doubt.” He sentenced them to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years of imprisonment, “with all its accessory penalties.”
The Tiamzons were also ordered to pay complainant Lt. Abraham Claro Casis, a former Philippine Army officer, P75,000 as moral damages, P75,000 as civil indemnity, and P75,000 as exemplary damages.
The charges stemmed from the kidnapping of Casis and three fellow soldiers, Lt. Clarito Santos, Lt. Oscar Singson and Lt. Rommel Salamanca, who were taken by supposed members of the NPA after they were stopped while on their way to Manila on June 1, 1988.
“After a careful review of the evidence presented, this court finds that the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused of the crime charged,” Judge Ruiz said in his decision.
In coming up with the conviction ruling, Judge Ruiz said “the kidnapping and detention of the complainant have been established by clear and convincing evidence.”
Meanwhile, although Casis said that the Tiamzons were not the ones who accosted them but were only at the Molave Detention Center where they were detained, Judge Ruiz said the complainant “was able to establish the participation of the accused during the trial of the case.”
Casis, in his testimony, also “confirmed that the accused Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria were top rank officials of the organization” as the couple “belong to the core group” who ran and organized meetings, and issued orders to CPP-NPA members.
“In the present case, the testimony of the complainant was able to establish conspiracy among members of the core group that kidnapped and detained him.”
Casis said that aside from his fellow soldiers, a member of former Philippine Constabulary identified as Sgt. John Jacob was also kidnapped.
IT’S VICTORY
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra lauded the court decision, saying it’s a victory for the government.
“I still have not read the entire decision. But It’s a victory for the prosecution, so as SOJ (secretary of justice) I am happy about the outcome of the trial,” Guevarra said.
However, the lawyers of the couple expressed dismay that they were convicted over charges that allegedly took place in 1988 in Mauban, Quezon.
National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) president Edre Olalia called the charges as “politically motivated persecution and hardline attack because [these were] resurrected out of nowhere.”
If the allegations were true, Olalia said the Tiamzons should have been charged with rebellion due to the doctrine of absorption.
Olalia lamented that the conviction of the couple “closes doors and windows to peaceful settlements” with the communist rebels since the couple are members and consultants of the communist group’s peace panel.
The lawyer reminded that the couple is still covered under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which is supposed to protect them from prosecution being peace consultants.
