Tiamzon kin seeks CHR probe

TACLOBAN CITY — Relatives of Communist Party of the Philippines chairperson Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma are seeking the help of the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the whereabouts of the couple who were reportedly killed in an encounter with government troops in Samar last 22 August.

CHR regional director Desiree Pontejos said his office received a memorandum from the CHR Central Office to conduct the investigation to determine the "status on the whereabouts" of the couple.
The request for investigation came after Nenita Tiamzon Santiago, a sister of Benito, went to the CHR for assistance in finding her brother.

Pontejos said the agency will specifically look into the reported explosion of a fishing boat that was believed to be carrying communist personalities.

To recall, the boat where suspected ranking officials of the New People's Army were aboard figured in a gunfight with government soldiers around 4:20 in the morning on 22 August in Catbalogan City as it was transporting an undetermined amount of explosives.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines' Joint Task Force Storm, which conducted a search and retrieval operation, found eight cadavers believed to be of boat passengers in various stages of decomposition floating along the coast of nearby municipalities days after the blast.

Unconfirmed reports say that among the casualties in the blast were the Tiamzon couple and local communist leader Joel Arceo.

The Scene of Crime Operatives from the Samar Provincial Police Office said they could not confirm the identity of the cadavers since no relatives of the dead came has come forward to match the DNA samples taken from the remain.