The Quezon City Regional Trial Court on Friday ruled that Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon were guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Based on the court’s decision, the Tiamzons was found guilty for kidnapping four soldiers and detaining them for 75 days in Mauban, Quezon in June 1988.

The court sentenced them to reclusion perpetua, or up to 40 years of imprisonment.

They were also ordered to pay the complainant, Lt. Abraham Claro Casis, P75, 000 for moral damages; P75,000 civil indemnity; and P75,000 for exemplary damages.

The couple was arrested in Cebu last 2014 but were granted bail in August 2016 to join the peace negotiations as consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Oslo.

However, their bail was cancelled after President Rodrigo Duterte decided to terminate the negotiation and the Manila Regional Trial Court ordered them re-arrested in 2018.

The court said the couple failed to appear after they were ordered re-arrested and their right to present evidence was considered waived.

The Tiamzons were also one of the accused in the murder case arising from the discovery of the mass grave in Leyte containing suspected victims of the communists' rebel purge in the 1980s. Ella Dionisio/DMS