On December 7, 2024, 81-year old Prudencio “Pruding” Cebu Calubid Jr., a retired technician, was illegally arrested by elements of Philippine National Police (PNP) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in his home in Olongapo City, where he has been a resident of for 50 years. During his arrest, he was presented a warrant of arrest for Prudencio Calubid, who was abducted on June 26, 2006, during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, when cases of killings and disappearances of activists were a daily fare.
Despite showing his various proof of identification and documents to prove that he is not the same person as the subject of the warrant, Tatay Pruding was brought to the PNP-CIDG in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
In a Facebook post, Analyn Calubid, Pruding’s daughter, called on the authorities to release her father who is currently detained at the Manila City Jail, “Sa kabila ng mga hawak naming ebidensya hindi nyo pinakawalan, bakit? Kasi may bounty na PhP 7.8 million ang hinahanap nilang kapangalan ng tatay ko. Isa lang si tatay sa nakapadaming mistaken identity na kaso sa Pilipinas dahil sa bounty.” (Despite the evidence, why was he not released? We think it is because of the PhP 7.8 million bounty on the head of the person whose name is similar to my father’s. My father is just one of the many so-called mistaken identity cases in the Philippines, because of this bounty system.)
She filed a Petition for Habeas Corpus before the Court of Appeals today, on behalf of her detained father, who is suffering from gout and kidney problem and is wheelchair-bound. For several years, Pruding worked as an aircon technician at the Subic Naval Base and in Saudi Arabia, and as an employee of Polymax Construction company.
“State security forces, then and now, have abused their power by abducting individuals and illegally arresting people to gain monetary rewards. They have already abducted and forcibly disappeared NDFP consultant Prudencio Calubid and his colleagues, and probably gained monetary rewards for the dastardly acts, and yet they illegally arrest individuals bearing the same name, again purportedly for monetary rewards. This is the mercenary character of these fascists in government. KARAPATAN supports the Calubid family in their call for the immediate release of Tatay Pruding,” said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay.
Palabay said that Tatay Pruding’s case is not an isolated one. “This use of the bounty system to arrest civilians in exchange of monetary rewards is a pervasive practice of the police and military,” she said.
Among the individuals who were wrongfully arrested using the government’s reward system:
- Rolly Panesa, a security guard in a hospital in Quezon City, was arrested in 2012 and alleged to be a certain Benjamin Mendoza, a high ranking CPP-NPA official with PhP 5.6 Million bounty. Panesa was released after 10 months in detention after his petition for habeas corpus was granted by the court. He was heavily tortured by soldiers to force him to admit that he was Mendoza;
- Oligario Sebas, a farmer, was arrested in 2012 and was alleged to be top NPA cadre Filemon Mendez with a PhP 5.8 million bounty;
- Ofelia Inong, a community organizer in Cagayan Valley, was arrested on September 10, 2013, alleged to be NPA finance-logistics officer Lolita Loguibis with PhP 2.05 Million bounty;
- Community midwife and church worker Lourdes Quioc and Reynaldo Ingal, retired National Power Corporation driver, were also illegally arrested in 2014 in Mexico Pampanga, as they were alleged to be National Democratic Front of the Philippines consultants Eugenia Magpantay and Agaton Topacio, who had a PhP 10.6 Million bounty;
- Truck driver Baltazar Saldo was arrested in Capiz, alleged to be former NPA commander Virgilio Paragan with PhP 1.05 million bounty;
- NDFP consultant Wigberto Villarico, again alleged as Benjamin Mendoza, was arrested on October 24, 2024;
- Farmer Ernesto Panganiban was arrested in 2021 and was alleged to be Gavino Panganiban, a supposed NPA leader with a PhP 4.5 Million bounty. Another so-called Gavino Panganiban was arrested in October 2024.
“This practice and policy should stop. We urge the Court of Appeals to grant the petition of the Calubid family. We call on the Marcos Jr. government to rescind all orders regarding the rewards system as these violate basic rights and fundamental freedoms of the people,” Palabay said.
*Copy of the petition is available upon request.