Rey Irvine Malaborbor was scheduled to be released after six years of imprisonment on June 23 when Metro Manila District Jail Annex 4 (MMDJ4) personnel blocked his release and returned him to his cell. Jail personnel said a subpoena arrived against Malaborbor for an arson case that allegedly occurred in 2019 in Mindoro. The subpoena was served to Malaborbor and his paralegal on the very day of his scheduled release.

Malaborbor is an activist and member of the Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (Kasama-TK). The 76th IB arrested and charged him with fabricated cases of illegal possession of firearms and murder on July 27, 2019 in Santa Cruz, Occidental Mindoro. They also accused him of being a New People’s Army member.

According to Karapatan-Laguna, MMDJ4 has no authority to prevent Malaborbor’s release because his documents are complete. “A subpoena is not a warrant of arrest and cannot be used as a basis to hold a person. In fact, by holding Rey Irvine, they violate his right to habeas corpus or his right to face the complaints against him in court,” the group said.

Additionally, the subpoena named Malaborbor’s father, Reynaldo Malaborbor, a Pagkakaisa at Ugnayan ng Magsasaka sa Laguna peasant leader and member who was killed on November 4, 2019.

“Why do delaying tactics suddenly appear just as the person is about to be released? We call for the immediate release of Rey Irvine Malaborbor! Stop harassing political prisoners!” Karapatan-Laguna declared.