NDFP CONSULTANTS National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultants Benito and Wilma Tiamzon attend a forum on the peace process in Pasig City in this photo taken in September 2016. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said on Monday it would investigate the alleged torture and murder of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, saying it was part of its mandate to also look into such cases.
In a statement, Commissioner Beda Epres said the CHR would look into allegations that the Tiamzons were tortured and murdered in Catbalogan City, the provincial capital of Samar province, before their bodies were set adrift on boats rigged with explosives that were later detonated by the military.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported in August last year that the Tiamzons were killed in an encounter with Army soldiers after the boat which the couple used exploded during that firefight.
Government troops involved in that encounter, according to the AFP, were members of Joint Task Force Storm of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division and Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trident.
But according to the central committee of the CPP, the Tiamzons were on their way to Catbalogan on Aug. 21, 2022, when they were captured by unidentified men, tortured and severely beaten up to the point that their faces were smashed. Their bodies were then placed in boats that were directed toward Taranganan Island off the coast of Samar before these exploded.
AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar described the CPP’s allegations as “propaganda in an attempt to deceive the public.”
Benito Tiamzon was 71 and Wilma Tiamzon was 70 around the time they were allegedly killed.
‘Independent mandate’
Epres, whom President Marcos appointed in September last year, noted in his statement that “while the regularity of military operations [is] generally presumed, [the] allegation of torture and intentional killing… perpetrated by the military resulting in the death of the Tiamzon couple, alongside other communist rebels, prompts the CHR to fulfill its constitutional mandate to investigate the truth behind the incident.”
He also said no ideology, “regardless of how seemingly noble, can ever justify armed violence, as well as the abuse and violation of human rights.”
Nevertheless the CHR’s mandate is “founded on the respect for the human rights of all—government forces and rebels alike, especially civilians,” Epres said.
He added: “To this end, we commit to investigate the allegation[s] objectively and with our independent mandate and duty as guide.” INQ