Marilyn Cahatol

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1751093333738512156684_1142362407923341_2678710396626367066_n.jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Retired technician Prudencio Cebu Calubid Jr. National Union of Peoples&#x27; Lawyers/Facebook"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false" style="text-align:left">Retired technician Prudencio Cebu Calubid Jr. <em style="text-align:left">National Union of Peoples&#x27; Lawyers/Facebook</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Lawyers of an 81-year-old man the court has ordered released said they may file countercharges against the police for the “wrongful and malicious imprisonment” of the man who had been mistaken for a National Democratic Front of the Philippines consultant who had gone missing in 2006.</p><p>Prudencio Cebu “Tatay Pruding” Calubid Jr., a retired technician, was arrested December last year in his residence in Olongapo City after being mistaken for an NDFP peace consultant with a similar name, said the National Union of People&#x27;s Lawyers.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/16/daughter-seeks-court-release-of-retiree-father-with-same-name-as-wanted-man-2148"><strong>Daughter seeks court release of retiree father with same name as wanted man<br/></strong></a></div><p>NUPL underscored that the Prudencio Calubid wanted by authorities has been a desaparecido, or missing since June 26, 2006 when he, his wife and companions were allegedly abducted by suspected military agents.</p><p>It has been 19 years since Calubid&#x27;s disappearance. </p><p>“Tatay Pruding’s case is not one of simple mistaken identity. It is a case of deliberate misidentification, motivated by the perverse incentives of a bounty system, and carried out with gross disregard for the most basic standards of law enforcement, due process, and human dignity,” said NUPL in a Facebook post on Friday, June 27.</p><p>The arrested Calubid’s daughter Analyn had filed a petition before the Court of Appeals April this year, noting there were “clear evidence” her father was not the same person included in the “CTG (Communist Terrorist Group) Most Wanted List.”</p><p>The CA&#x27;s Sixteenth Division granted the privilege of the writ and ordered his immediate release.</p><p>Citing the court&#x27;s decision, NUPL said &quot;police failed to exercise even the minimum diligence required to verify whether Calubid Jr. was the same person named in multiple criminal informations and arrest warrants.&quot; </p><div><strong>&#x27;WRONGFUL ARRESTS DUE TO BOUNTY SYSTEM&#x27;</strong></div><p>NUPL said Calubid&#x27;s wrongful arrest was motivated by the P7.8 million bounty for his namesake’s capture.</p><p>They said that, under the system, law enforcement personnel “are incentivized not to uphold justice, but to deliver &#x27;results&#x27; that align with operational quotas and reward mechanisms.”</p><p>They said that this violates due process and leads to abuse paid for with public funds.</p><p>The group highlighted that Calubid’s case was only among the state forces’ wrongful arrests motivated by the bounty system, citing the case of Rolly Panesa, a security guard who was allegedly arrested, detained and tortured after being wrongfully identified as his namesake who was a member of the New People&#x27;s Army.</p><p>The real Panesa had a P5.6-million bounty for his arrest.</p><p>“This case does not exist in a vacuum… it sends the wrong message to the public that those tasked to serve and protect the people… are their very reason to fear injustice, and that fundamental rights may be easily overlooked for convenience, carelessness, or, possibly, personal and selfish gains,” NUPL’s statement read.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K61GgyIwsjo?si=GCQJxVPCOhy45FOV" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>The CA's Sixteenth Division has ordered the immediate release of retired technician Prudencio Cebu Calubid Jr.</p>

The CA's Sixteenth Division has ordered the immediate release of retired technician Prudencio Cebu Calubid Jr.

NUPL calls for accountability for arrest of 81-year-old man mistaken as ‘communist’

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NUPL calls for accountability for arrest of 81-year-old man mistaken as ‘communist’

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 28, 2025 03:25 PM PHT

|

Updated Jun 28, 2025 05:46 PM PHT

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Pruding Calubid

Wrongful arrest

NUPL

Mistaken identity

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