The family of Prudencio Cebu Calubid Jr, 81 years old, who was wrongly arrested and presented as a National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace talks consultant in December 2024, filed a petition for habeas corpus at the Court of Appeals. They said he was arrested based on an wrong warrant.

State forces insist that he is Prudencio Calubid, a former NDFP consultant the military agents abducted as far back as 2006.

Prudencio Jr’s daughter Analyn Calubid filed the petition with the assistance of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL). The petition asserts Prudencio Jr’s detention is illegal. Despite presenting numerous government-issued IDs and documents proving his identity, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested him at his home in Olongapo City.

“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,” NUPL’s Atty. Julian Agpalo said. He emphasized that there is clear evidence of identity and long-term residence of Prudencio Jr that would indicate he is not the individual named in the warrant.

At present, Prudencio Jr is suffering from gout and kidney problems and is wheelchair-bound. His family is extremely concerned for his health while in detention. Analyn expressed her anger in a post on Facebook. “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,” she said.

KARAPATAN also insisted on the immediate release of Prudencio Jr. Secretary general Cristina Palabay condemned state security forces for their actions. She said, “State security forces, then and now, have abused their power by abducting individuals and illegally arresting people to gain monetary rewards.” She mentioned that the case of Prudencio Jr is part of a broader pattern of wrongful arrests linked to the government’s bounty system. “This is the mercenary character of these fascists in government.”

Palabay said that Tatay Pruding’s case is not an isolated incident. “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.

“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 asserted.