From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 24): Tiamzons' arrest has legal basis -- De Lima
Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima on Monday maintained that the arrest of Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) leader Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma has legal basis.
This was despite the insistence of the camp of the Tiamzons that their arrest was a violation of the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) because they are consultants to the peace negotiation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the CPP-NPA.
According to De Lima, their arrest was based on two arrest warrants involving the discovery of a "mass grave" in Inopacan, Leyte and another similar case inNorthern Samar .
De Lima said that there was also no "validation" from the government panel that the Tiamzon couple are covered by the JASIG.
However, if indeed they are covered by "immunity guarantee", De Lima said that they cannot invoke such an immunity because there is no ongoing peace negotiation between the government and the CPP-NPA.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=628621
Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima on Monday maintained that the arrest of Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) leader Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma has legal basis.
This was despite the insistence of the camp of the Tiamzons that their arrest was a violation of the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) because they are consultants to the peace negotiation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the CPP-NPA.
According to De Lima, their arrest was based on two arrest warrants involving the discovery of a "mass grave" in Inopacan, Leyte and another similar case in
De Lima said that there was also no "validation" from the government panel that the Tiamzon couple are covered by the JASIG.
However, if indeed they are covered by "immunity guarantee", De Lima said that they cannot invoke such an immunity because there is no ongoing peace negotiation between the government and the CPP-NPA.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=628621