MANILA, Mar 23 (PNA) — The chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Sunday said the arrest of ranking New People’s Army (NPA) leaders, Wilma and Benito Tiamzon, during operations at Barangay Zaragosa, Aluginsan town, Cebu Saturday afternoon is a major victory for the country’s peace and development.
“The arrest of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon is another victory for the combined efforts between the AFP, PNP and other stakeholders in pursuit of peace and security,” General Emmanuel T. Bautista said.
The two are undergoing processing and documentation for legal disposition.
Wilma is the secretary general of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) while her husband, Benito is the chairman.
The couple were arrested at 3:15 p.m. Saturday by virtue of a warrant of arrest for their crimes against humanity that include murder, multiple and frustrated cases of murder.
“We will then continue to strengthen our resolve to bring other criminals to justice in honor of the victims of the violence perpetrated by the CPP-NPA, and in honor of our people who deserve to live in a peaceful and developed society,” Bautista added.
“We call on to the rest of the CPP-NPA members to lay down their arms, abandon the armed struggle and return to the comfort of their families and join us in bringing peace and development to our nation,” the AFP chief said.(Philippine News Agency)