by Ador Vincent S. Mayol, Senior Reporter
Watched by over a hundred policemen and 50 military officers, communist leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon and their five companions refused to enter a plea during their arraignment on criminal charges filed against them before the Regional Trial Court in Toledo City, 50 km west of Cebu City.
In accordance with court rules, Judge Ruben Altubar of the RTC branch 29 in Toledo City entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of the seven accused.
Defense lawyer Rachel Pastores said her clients did not enter any plea to protest the filing of “fabricated” charges against them.
“Para sa kanila, isa itong gawa-gawang kaso at hindi dapat bigyan ng dignidad by entering a plea. (For them, these charges were concocted, hence it shouldn’t be given any dignity by entering a plea),” she told reporters after the proceedings.
The Tiamzon couple along with Joel Enano, Arlene Panea and Rex Villaflor were charged with illegal possession of firearms as well as illegal possession of explosives and incendiary devices, a non-bailable offense.
Two fragmentation grenades were purportedly recovered and confiscated from the group after they were arrested during a joint police and military checkpoint in barangay Zaragoza in Aloguinsan town, southwest Cebu on March 22, 2014.
Review
Also taken from them were one .45-caliber Colt pistol and three magazines with 17 rounds of ammunition, and a 9 mm Norinco pistol with a magazine loaded with seven rounds of ammunition.
Two others—Nona Castillo and Jeosi Nepa—were charged with illegal possession of firearms in relation to the recovery of a 9-mm Kimber pistol with a magazine loaded with seven rounds of ammunition and a .357-caliber revolver with six rounds of ammunition.
The two accused were earlier released from detention after posting bail.
Pastores and lawyer Ian Sapayan said they are asking the Court of Appeals (CA) to review the lower court’s decision in denying their plea to dismiss the charges against the accused.
Arraignment
The Tiamzons and their five companions were flown from Camp Crame to the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base in Lapu-Lapu City for yesterday’s arraignment.
The seven accused arrived at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Case at 5:51 a.m. on board a Philippine Air Force Fokker plane.
They boarded three UH-1H Huey helicopters and for Toledo City at 7:47 a.m.
They landed at an open field in Barangay Tubod, about 700 meters away from the court.
The Tiamzon couple and Panea were transported to the Toledo City Hall of Justice through an armored personnel carrier (APC).
Guarded
Each of their two other companions boarded two military vehicles.
At 8:15 a.m., the accused, clad in orange prisoners’ shirt, arrived at the courthouse which was heavily guarded by police and military personnel.
About 20 persons stood outside the Hall of Justice, carrying posters that read: “Buhi-an si Benito, Wilma, og 5 ka kauban (Release Benito, Wilma, and the five others), “Free All NDFP (National Democratic Front) consultants.”
A fire truck was readied by the police in case the protesters got unruly. Journalists were also denied entry to the courtroom.
According to Supt. Ricky Delilis, Toledo City police chief, the court gave a standing order, prohibiting the media during the arraignment of Tiamzon and the other accused.
High profile
“Nagbigay ng order ang court na hindi papasukin yong media. (The court ordered not to allow the media inside the courtroom),” he said.
But upon verification, a staff of Jude Altubar said they were surprised why the media wasn’t allowed to get inside the courtroom.
“Judge did not give any instruction to prohibit the media inside the courtroom. He even encouraged media coverage since the case involves national issues,” said the staff who requested anonymity.
Apart from the military, an eight-man team from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and policemen in plain clothes were also deployed at the Toledo City Hall of Justice.
Delilis admitted that the security was stringent for a high-profile case.
Fabricated
“We’re considering some threats. We received an information that they (Tiamzons) might be extracted from us. But well, the arraignment was peaceful,” he said.
Sought for comment after the arraignment, Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, chairman and secretary-general respectively of the Communist Party of the Philippines, exclaimed “Fabricated yong kaso. Planted ang evidence (The case is fabricated. The evidence is planted)”
Pastores, the Makati-based lawyer of the accused, considered yesterday’s security as an “overkill.”
Pastores said she moved to re-set the arraignment pending the appellate court’s resolution of their motion to dismiss the charges against the accused. But she said Judge Altubar insisted to arraign the seven accused.
Pre-trial
Pastores said there is also a court order to transfer Enano, Panea, and Villaflor from Camp Crame to the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
But she said jail authorities have yet to receive the order. The court set the pre-trial conference of the case on March 2, 2015.
After the arraignment, the accused were brought back to Mactan Benito Ebuen Airbase on board the three helicopters at 10:40 a.m. and then took the same PAF Fokker plane back to Manila.
The Tiamzon couple is facing another charge for multiple murder in connection with the discovery of mass graves in Inopacan, Leyte, purportedly of victims of communist purges in the 1980s.