Amended DND-DILG Joint Order another proof that arrest of Tiamzons illegal – Karapatan

By KARAPATAN
April 24, 2014

QUEZON CITY – “The GPH cannot escape the fact that the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) is operative and JASIG-protected persons are immune from arrests, including recently arrested NDFP consultant Wilma Austria Tiamzon,” declared Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.

Palabay made reference to the DND-DILG ORDER ON REWARD NUMBER 14(A)-2012 issued on December 12, 2012 amending earlier DND-DILG Joint Order Number 14-2012 stated, “Pursuant to the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) dated 24 February 1995 and the current GPH list of JASIG-covered personalities, the following names are to be deleted from DND-DILG JOR Number 14-2012 in recognition of the pending peace negotiations and conditions upon the existence of said peace negotiations”.

The amendment ordered the deletion of names of Wilma Austria Tiamzon, Rafael Baylosis, Vicente Ladlad, Reynaldo Bocala and Jose Maria Sison from the list of so-called 235 “communist personalities” who are targets of arrest or neutralization, with corresponding reward money. Except for Sison, who is NDFP chief political consultant, all are consultants in the GPH-NDFP peace negotiation.

"Alex Padilla, head of the GPH peace panel and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima do not know what they were talking about when they said the Tiamzons were not immune to arrests. Here is the proof," Palabay said. “The contradictory positions taken by the government reflects its deceit in negotiating with the NDFP,” she added.

“The list of deleted persons is incomplete,” Palabay said as there are 14 NDFP consultants who are detained on numerous trumped up criminal charges, including the Tiamzon and Austria. Under BS Aquino, a peace consultant was convicted for the first time. Eduardo Sarmiento, who hails from Samar, was sentenced 40 years imprisonment in December 2013 for trumped up charge of illegal possession of explosives. There are also 13 NDFP consultants and staff who are victims of enforced disappearance.

The DND-DILG Joint Order Number 14-2012 is a hitlist akin to Gloria Arroyo’s Order of Battle used in the implementation of her Oplan Bantay Laya. In the said list, Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria-Tiamzon have a 10 million-peso reward each on their heads. Karapatan considers the reward system an “organized racket” of the AFP and the PNP and called on the government to scrap the said order.

The amendment of DND-DILG Joint Order on Reward Number 14 (A)-2012 was signed by DND Sec. Voltaire Gazmin and DILG Sec. Mar Roxas. The said document also stated, “All previous Joint Orders contrary to or inconsistent with this Order are hereby rescinded.”