13 Facts About Benito Tiamzon

Benito Tiamzon 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 and its armed wing, the New People's Army.

Benito 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.

In later years, Benito Tiamzon would be credited with transforming Eastern Visayas into a solid base for the NPA in its insurgency movement.

Benito Tiamzon's parents were both workers in the town's shoemaking industry, and he was the fourth of eight children.

Benito 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.

Benito Tiamzon was a writer for the Philippine Collegian, the university's student publication, and a member of the UP Alpha Sigma Fraternity.

Benito Tiamzon later joined the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan a progressive group which along with Kabataang Makabayan formed the vanguard of the national democratic movement in the Philippines during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, especially during his second term.

Benito Tiamzon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from UP Diliman.

Benito Tiamzon recalled in an interview with Bulatlat that his efforts for the Leftist movement began when he attended his first demonstration on January 26,1970 during the State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos, which marked the beginning of the First Quarter Storm.

In 1976, the CPP issued an organizational document that guided the movement's work in the countryside; Benito Tiamzon was believed to have been responsible for writing most of that document, drawing on his vast experience in Samar.

Benito Tiamzon consolidated the CPP in the 1990s after it suffered a split as a consequence of the Second Great Rectification Movement.

Benito Tiamzon formally became the party's Chairman between 2004 and 2008.

Benito Tiamzon allegedly had six toes on one of his feet, a condition known as polydactyly.