Tiamzon couple not covered by Jasig, says Palace

Philippine military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala shows pictures of arrested communist leader suspects, Benito Tiamzon, chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, and his wife Wilma Austria Tiamzon, after a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo, military headquarters in suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines Sunday, March 23, 2014. AP

MANILA, Philippines-After one militant leader protested the arrest of the Tiamzon couple, Malacañang on Sunday stood firm that the operation that resulted in the capture of the top official of the Communist Party of the Philippines and his wife was legal.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda quoted the statement of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) that claimed Benito and Wilma Tiamzon were not under the protective services of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) after their arrest on Saturday.

Lacierda added that the Philippine Government believed that Benito Tiamzon used an alias and that the National Democratic Front (NDF) failed to identify whether Tiamzon was using an alias or prove his true identity, thus voiding his Jasig. In his wife’s case, she jumped bail while she was under detention on Dec. 26, 1989, six years before the Jasig was signed in 1995, which also voided her immunity privilege.

“[It’s not the] fault of government; the NDF failed to open their own files that purportedly contained the photos and true identities of the said NDF consultants,” said Lacierda quoting OPAPP to dispute NDF’s Luis Jalandoni who said the arrests were illegal.

According to the statement, the Philippine government and the NDF agreed in 2011 that NDF consultants under the protection of the Jasig carrying aliases should be verified with their true identities.

“To sustain their claim to Jasig protection is ridiculous because that would mean they can wage war and violence against government and when caught, claim Jasig protection and expect to be released,” Lacierda said.

“It is even more outrageous considering that the peace negotiations have not moved for over a year now.”

He said that the CPP-New People’s Army are the ones to blame “for rendering the Jasig inoperative for most of their alleged consultants.”

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