The death of suspected communist leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon during an encounter with troops still could not be verified by the 8th Infantry Division (8ID) of the Philippine Army (PA) due to the absence of their remains, a ranking military official admitted Tuesday, August 23.
Elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s Joint Task Force (JTF) Storm had to call off their search, rescue, and retrieval operations on an exploded motorbanca supposedly carrying “high-ranking VIPs” from the New People’s Army (NPA) in Catbalogan City, Samar due to bad weather, said Maj. Gen. Edgardo De Leon, commander of 8ID.
“Nakabalik na ang tropa at wala na sila talagang makuha eh. Hindi na maganda ang panahon dito (The troops were recalled and they could not get anything. The weather here is not good),” De Leon said.
De Leon admitted feeling pressure in confirming the death of Benito, the pinpointed chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), and his wife, Wilma, the alleged Secretary General of CPP-NPA, as this will surely have a big impact on the operations of country’s the primary communist forces.
However, the two-star general could only bank on the information provided by a tipster to the intelligence unit of the JTF Storm that the couple were indeed onboard the exploded motorbanca.
“Ang information sa akin ng intelligence, highly likely eh, mataas ‘yung kanilang level of certainty na nandoon (The information provided to me by the intelligence unit is that highly likely, there is a high-level of certainty the were onboard),” De Leon said.
But even the seasoned commander did not want to take risks in assuming the couple’s death based on mere assumptions, recognizing the possible repercussions that it may have on the military’s reputation if proven otherwise.
“Katulad ng tanong ko sa kanila, kaya niyo bang sabihin na 100 percent na nandoon eh wala akong maipapakitang physical evidence? Naiintindihan natin na ang hahanapin sa atin ng publiko eh physical, wala rin silang maibigay (But I asked them if they can say 100 percent that the subjects were really there despite the absence of physical evidence? I understand that the public wants physical evidence, and they could not provide any),” De Leon said.
“Ang worry ko lang talaga, kapag sinabi kong patay ‘yan eh paano kung magpakita ng proof life later on? Paano kung later on sabihin nila na hindi totoo at nagsisinungaling si General De Leon o propaganda niya lang ‘yan at may proof of life kami? Yari naman tayo ‘di ba? (My only worry is that if I declare they have died, what if they presented a proof life later on? What if later on they say that General de Leon is lying or it’s just part of a propaganda and they have a proof of life? I’ll be damned),” he emphasized.
“Ayokong magspeculate (I don’t want to speculate),” he added.
The encounter occurred between elements of JTF Storm and at least 10 armed individuals around 4:20 a.m. on Monday, August 22, in the vicinity waters of Catbalogan City and Buri Island.
De Leon said the JTF Storm received a tip that high-ranking NPA personalities were escaping towards the southern portion of Samar through the waters of Catbalogan City due to intense military operations in the area since February of this year.
When the troops spotted the group onboard a motorboat loaded with boxes, said to be explosives, during an interdiction operation, the enemies allegedly fired upon the soldiers. The troops retaliated until the boat exploded, reducing it to debris.
The military “could not find anything” during the search, rescue, and retrieval operations, De Leon said, leading him to speculate if there was a second boat where the enemies transferred before the explosion.
They also could not determine whether the explosion was “self-inflicted” or a result of the firefight.
“Was there any other boat? The troops cannot also ascertain to me na ang na-engage nila ay isa lang (that they engaged only one boat). Maraming possible reason din for it to explode. Siyempre kung incidental, lalabas ka muna and lilipat ka sa iba (There were many possible reasons also for it to explode. If it was incidental, they can get out of the boat and transfer to another),” De Leon said.
De Leon, however, previously acknowledged that the troops were wearing night vision goggles during the operation, raising chances that they could spot another vessel near the area, if there were any.