Groups urge independent probe of killing of Tiamzons

Benito and Wilma Tiamzon—INQUIRER FILE  PHOTO

The killing of couple Benito and Wilma Tiamzon has been considered a violation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and should be investigated independently, a human rights group and the couple’s counsel said on Friday.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has confirmed on Thursday that the Tiamzon couple, the organization’s highest-ranking leaders, had been captured, tortured and killed in August 2022.

The CPP belied a report by the military last year, which stated that the couple died in a boat explosion while engaging in an armed encounter with soldiers at sea in Catbalogan, Samar.

Rachel Pastores of the Public Interest Law Center, also the counsel for the Tiamzons, described the death of the couple as a “savage extrajudicial killing in the midst of unresolved injustices.”

Their deaths, Pastores said, only show that the country’s system “has failed again.”

“We grieve with the family, friends and comrades of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon. We join them in condemning the cruel and barbaric killings, as much as we seek accountability of those responsible for this grave violation of international humanitarian law,” Pastores said in a statement.

She described both of her clients as “level-headed, patient and soft-spoken,” saying this was contrary to the “vilification” against them.

“Given their extensive knowledge of the nature and problems of Philippine society and deep involvement in the armed struggle to bring about structural change, it was a challenge for us to assure them that they would get a fair day in court despite being branded as enemies of the state,” Pastores explained.

Peace consultants

The Tiamzons were released on bail by former President Rodrigo Duterte in August 2016 so they could participate as consultants at the peace talks in Oslo, Norway.

However, in 2017, Duterte terminated the peace negotiations and ordered that they be brought back to jail. The couple had been convicted by a Quezon City court in 2020 in connection with the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of military officers in 1988.

According to Pastores, her clients had provided “significant contributions” during their time as peace consultants for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines during its peace negotiations with the Philippine government.

Human rights group Karapatan, on the other hand, has called for an independent investigation of the Tiamzons’ killings, as well as their eight other companions who were also reported as dead.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said that the “summary killings” of the Tiamzons could be considered a violation of the IHL.

READ: CPP: Tiamzon couple tortured, executed, not killed in blast