Manila: Rebel sources on Saturday evening confirmed the arrest of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) highest ranking official Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma Austria in Cebu, an island province in central Philippines.

In a statement, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the umbrella organ of the local communist movement, confirmed the news.

The couple were believed to be holding sensitive positions in the local insurgent movement with Tiamzon being the current chair of the CPP and Austria, the person in charge of the organisation’s finances.

The CPP provides ideological direction and organisational support to the 45-year-old movement.

The couple had a standing arrest order in Laoan, Samar, in connection with a murder. Tiamzon is one of the founding members of the CPP as well as the communist armed wing, the New Peoples’ Army.

Earlier, there had been reports that the Tiamzon couple have a falling out with the founding chairman of the CPP, Jose Maria Sison who is based in the Netherlands.

Confirming the arrest of the couple, the NDF said it “condemns in the strongest terms the illegal arrest of Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria by the Aquino regime’s security forces this afternoon in Carcar, Cebu.”

However, instead of confirming the couple’s roles in the movement, it said that Tiamzon and Austria are “NDFP consultants who have fulfilled and are fulfilling highly significant tasks in the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the NDF.”

“Wilma Austria is holder of NDFP Document of Identification ND978226 under her real name. She is holder of the Letter of Acknowledgment signed by then government Negotiating Panel Chairman Silvestre H. Bello III which states: The above named person is entitled to the safety and immunity guarantees asprovided under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) for the duration of the peace negotiations. You are hereby required to facilitate the safe conduct and free passage of the above named person.”

It added that Tiamzon likewise possesses NDFP Document of Identification ND978227 under the assumed name “Crising Banaag.”

“He is likewise holder of a letter of acknowledgement signed by government negotiating panel chairman Silvestre H. Bello III during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

“The NDFP vigorously demands that Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria be immediately and unconditionally released,” it stated.

Earlier, unconfirmed reports came out that the couple had been arrested in Carcar while aboard two vehicles along with four of their escorts.

The arrest of Austria will be her second. According to Manuel Mogato of Reuters, who had covered the defence beat for more than two decades, Austria had escaped in the early 1990s after her first arrest.

According to the NDF, the arrest of the duo violates the condition of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), which had been affirmed by the two sides several years ago to create conditions favourable for the conduct of peace talks.

Reports said the operation that led to the arrest of the couple had involved the army intelligence, the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the police criminal investigation division.