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MANILA, Philippines – The Quezon City Regional Court of First Instance has found the couple Benito and Wilma Tiamzon guilty of the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of three military officers and a member of a narcotics command.
In an 18-page decision, the Presiding Judge of Section 216 of the QCRTC, Alfonso C. Ruiz II, imposed the penalty of life imprisonment or up to 40 years in prison for both defendants.
Lieutenant Abraham Claro Casis was also ordered to pay the complainant 75,000 pesos in moral damages; P75,000 as civil compensation; and P75,000 as exemplary damages.
It concerns the kidnapping of Lieutenants Clariton Santos, Oscar Singson, Rommel Salamanca and Abraham Casis of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Sergeant John Jacob of the Philippine Narcotics Command in Quezon province in 1988.
However, the case against the two was brought to court only in 2003 or after 15 years.
The Tiamzon couple pleaded not guilty, but the court said the complainant positively identified them as part of those who participated in the kidnapping.
“This court finds no reason not to believe the plaintiff’s testimony considering that his narration of the events was direct, categorical and consistent with the natural course of things,” the court said.
“The veracity of his testimony conforms to the common knowledge, observation and experience of mankind when the facts surrounding the case are taken into account. Consequently, his testimony deserves full faith and credit, ”the court added.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that the court’s decision is “a victory for the prosecution, so as SOJ I am happy with the outcome of the trial.”
Apart from the cases of kidnapping and serious illegal detention, the Tiamzons also face a separate murder case following the discovery of a mass grave in Leyte, believed to be the place where the victims of the communist purge were buried during the 1980s.
The couple were arrested in 2014. Two years later, or in August 2016, they were released and participated in the peace negotiations as consultants to the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. A year later, they met with President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang.
In 2018, the Manila Court ordered the new arrest of the Tiamzon couple, but they have not yet been arrested.
EDV
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