Tiamzons ask court: Junk kidnap charges

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon has asked a Quezon City court to junk the two counts of kidnapping charges filed against them over alleged incidents that happened in 1988.

In a 19-page omnibus motion released yesterday, the Public Interest Law Center and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers – representing the Tiamzon couple – asked Judge Madonna Echiverri of the Regional Trial Court Branch 81 to dismiss the charges and set aside their arraignment last April 8.

In seeking the dismissal of the charges, the defense counsels said the kidnapping with serious illegal detention cases must be deemed absorbed in the rebellion case that was dismissed by the Supreme Court on June 1, 2007.

“The abduction was politically motivated. As the political purpose alleged in the information in these cases is clear, the present cases must be absorbed in the rebellion case pursuant to the Hernandez doctrine,” read the motion.

The case stemmed from the alleged abduction of lieutenants Clariton Santos, Oscar Singson, Rommel Salamanca, and Abraham Casis of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and of sergeant John Jacob of the Philippine Narcotics Command in 1988.

Based on the information read during the arraignment, the alleged abduction happened around June 1, 1988 in Candelaria and Tiaong towns in Quezon province. It alleged that the couple detained the victims for 75 days.

The couple refused to enter a plea after Echiverri denied the request of their lawyers to defer the arraignment.

In the motion, the camp of the Tiamzons claimed that the proceeding is invalid citing Section 14, Article III of the Constitution, which states that “no person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law.”

“The accused were informed of such arraignment late afternoon of April 7. Although they were able to communicate to their counsel and informed them about the setting, there was no sufficient time for the counsel and their clients to confer,” read the motion. 

Echiverri gave the prosecution panel 10 days to comment on the motion.