Benito Tiamzon

Benito Tiamzon (March 20, 1951 – August 22, 2022) was a Filipino political organizer and until his arrest in March 2014 by Philippine security forces, was believed to be the Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA).

Born and raised in Marikina, Tiamzon attended the University of the Philippines Diliman beginning in 1969, where he wrote for the Philippine Collegian. Joining the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (Association of Democratic Youth; SDK) as a student, he would eventually become a member of the CPP, in which he helped organize labor unions in Marikina and Caloocan.

Tiamzon secretly married his fellow activist Wilma Austria in early 1973, but was later arrested and detained in Fort Bonifacio by July during martial law. A year later, he was released and soon after would move with Wilma to the island of Samar in the Eastern Visayas region. but the military refrained from confirming this due to lack of evidence.

Early life and education Tiamzon was born and raised in Marikina. According to Manila Times columnist Rigoberto Tiglao, a former head of the Manila-Rizal chapter of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in the early 1970s, Tiamzon grew up in a family that was neither rich nor poor, and that his family "either had a small business or a farm in Marikina."

Tiamzon graduated as salutatorian from Rizal High School alongside his future spouse Wilma Austria in 1969, and both later enrolled in the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman).

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from UP Diliman. Duterte announced that peace negotiations would no longer be undertaken in February 2017 and that he expected the NDF representatives, including the Tiamzons to "on their own… return and go back to prison."

Death On August 22, 2022, a boat carrying ten NPA rebels exploded in Catbalogan, Samar. According to the Philippine Army, they approached the boat acting on a tip by the locals. The military reportedly advised the passengers to submit themselves for inspection through a megaphone but the passengers allegedly opened fire on the troops before the watercraft exploded. The casualties reportedly include Tiamzon and his wife. The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency confirmed the couple's death in December 2022 based on intelligence reports and statements from their former comrades.

On 20 April 2023, the CPP confirmed the couple's death, stating they were captured and killed by the military rather than a boat explosion. They claimed that the unarmed Tiamzons, along with eight unarmed CPP militants, were captured and subjected to severe beatings by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The previously reported mid-sea firefight and explosion, which were believed to have caused their deaths, were, according to the CPP, a cover-up by the AFP and its US military advisers for their "fascist crime". The Tiamzons were considered fugitives and were tagged as "terrorists" by the Anti-Terrorism Council. The CPP demanded justice and their indictment in all relevant courts.

Personal life Benito was married to Wilma Tiamzon, the Secretary-General of the CPP-NPA. The couple had two children, Liza and Alex, and six grandchildren. Benito allegedly had six toes on one of his feet, a condition known as polydactyly.