The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) has condemned as “grave breaches” of international humanitarian law (IHL) the killings eight months ago of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) leaders Benito Tiamzon and his wife, Wilma, and their unidentified companions.
The CPP had said that the Tiamzons were actually tortured before they were killed.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had denounced CPP’s claim as it maintained that the Tiamzon couple and eight other rebels died when their motorboat exploded in the waters off Catbalogan City in Samar following an encounter with government troopers last year.
In a press statement, NUPL said: "The Tiamzon spouses are the latest NUPL clients to be killed under the government’s practice of giving no quarters to members and peace consultants of the underground revolutionary movement who were not engaging in hostilities or were manifestly unable to defend themselves,”
It said “the reported manner of killings, signs of torture on the unarmed victims’ bodies and the insidious cover-up involving the explosion and sinking of a 'hostile boat' in the waters of Catbalogan City, Northern Samar, all point to the commission of war crimes by the military.”
Also, it said that the murders of the Tiamzons blur the distinction between armed conflict and terrorism, which unfortunately enable the arbitrary terrorist designation of parties to the protracted armed struggle.
It then urged the government to fulfill its obligation to the IHL and hold the military to account not only for the deaths of the Tiamzon spouses but also of other similar casualties.
"It must also realize that further using ruthless counterterrorism tactics in tandem with draconian anti-people laws and issuances while neglecting to resolve the roots of the armed conflict will not only subvert public trust in our legal institutions and processes but also foment the people's indignation and continue to undermine the possibility of achieving a just and lasting peace," it said.