Habeas corpus petition filed before the Court of Appeals on Wednesday to free elderly man allegedly detained illegally after being falsely presented as long-missing NDFP consultant. Facebook/National Union of Peoples' Lawyers

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Rights group decries alleged illegal arrest of retired technician, calls out supposed 'bounty system'

Ched Rick Gatchalian

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1744801555869490496567_1086433470182902_6276355501894417197_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Habeas corpus petition filed before the Court of Appeals on Wednesday to free elderly man allegedly detained illegally after being falsely presented as long-missing NDFP consultant. Facebook/National Union of Peoples&#x27; Lawyers</div>MANILA — The daughter of an 81-year-old retired technician on Wednesday filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus at the Court of Appeals for his release after his allegedly illegal arrest in Olongapo City due to &quot;mistaken identity&quot;.In a release, rights alliance Karapatan said police arrested Prudencio “Pruding” Cebu Calubid Jr. in his home in Olongapo City last December.  Karapatan said the subject of the warrant of arrest was a namesake &quot;who was abducted on June 26, 2006,&quot; during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/5/8-cops-face-multiple-raps-over-unlawful-arrest-of-businessman-in-las-pi-as-1928">8 cops face multiple raps over &#x27;unlawful arrest&#x27; of businessman in Las Piñas </a></div>&quot;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,&quot; Karapatan said, adding Calubid Jr. had lived in his community for more than five decades.His daughter Analyn filed the petition for  at the Court of Appeals on Wednesday with the assistance of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which said it had &quot;clear evidence&quot; the retired technician is not the same person in the arrest warrant presented to him.In a Facebook post, Analyn also called on the authorities to release her father, who is detained at the Manila City Jail.She said that police were holding her father despite IDs and documents already presented because of the P7.8-million bouny for his namesake.&quot;Isa lang si tatay sa nakapadaming mistaken identity na kaso sa Pilipinas dahil sa bounty,&quot; she said.(My father is just one of the many cases of mistaken identity in the Philippines, because of this bounty system.)“The continued detention of Prudencio Jr. is not the result of a mistaken identity; it is a case of deliberate misrepresentation, carried out in disregard of truth and due process,” Atty. Julian Agpalo of NUPL said in a release.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/4/ejk-victims-kin-seek-probe-into-coordinated-harassment-after-duterte-arrest-1517">&#x27;We will not be silenced&#x27;: EJK victims&#x27; kin seek probe into &#x27;intensified&#x27; online attacks </a></div>Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay said the rights alliance has documented several similar cases, including those of Rolly Panesa — a security guard arrested in 2012 and whom authorities alleged to be a certain Benjamin Mendoza — and Cagayan Valley community organizer Ofelia Inong, whom authorities arrested in 2013 in their search for a certain Lolita Loguibis.Both had been accused of being members of the Communist Party of the Philippines or New People&#x27;s Army who had bounties on their heads.“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.

The daughter of an 81-year-old retired technician on Wednesday filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus at the Court of Appeals for his release after his allegedly illegal arrest in Olongapo City due to "mistaken identity".

The daughter of an 81-year-old retired technician on Wednesday filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus at the Court of Appeals for his release after his allegedly illegal arrest in Olongapo City due to "mistaken identity".

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Daughter seeks court release of retiree father with same name as wanted man

Daughter seeks court release of retiree father with same name as wanted man

Ched Rick Gatchalian,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 16, 2025 09:48 PM PHT

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