President Duterte's legal counsel hailed the guilty verdict handed to National Democratic Front (NDF) consultants Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, saying this was a positive development in the quest for a crime-free Philippines.

Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo made the statement after Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 216 Judge Alfonso Ruiz II sentenced the Tiamzon couple to up to 40 years in prison for kidnapping and serious illegal detention over an abduction of a soldier in 1988.

The couple was likewise ordered to pay damages and civil indemnity amounting to P225,000 with interest.

In a statement, Panelo said the conviction shows that justice can prevail through a fair trial.

“This decision is a positive development toward the elimination of all forms of criminality in the country through a fair and just trial, and under a thriving democracy and independent Judiciary,” he said.

He added that the Tiamzons, whose whereabouts remain unknown, “may still avail of their remedial right to appeal their conviction before the higher courts.”

According to Panelo, the decision should remind everyone that the Philippines is a republican and democratic country that is governed by the rule of law.

“The enemies of society and of the government who seek to undermine the integrity of the social order and of the nation's lawful institutions shall answer for their misdeeds,” he said.

The Palace official, meanwhile, reminded that those seeking to reform the country should take measures that adhere to the country's laws.

“Those who seek to reform the social and political structure must do so in accordance with existing laws. Otherwise, they shall be accountable and punished accordingly,” Panelo said.

The conviction against the Tiamzons stemmed from the abduction of Army Lt. Abraham Claro Casis with two other soldiers along the border between Tiaong and Candelaria, Quezon.

Casis had testified that they were on their way to Manila on July 1, 1988 when members of the New People's Army (NPA) stopped their vehicle and took them. They were taken to a detention center where they were held captive for two months.

The court relied on and gave “full faith and credit” to Casis' testimony which they found straightforward, categorical, and “in accord with the natural course of things.”

President Duterte ordered the release of the Tiamzons in August, 2016 so they can represent the NDF in the peace talks in Oslo, Norway.

When the President scrapped the peace talks, the QC court ordered their arrest in August 2018. However, the couple's whereabouts remain unknown.