An 81-year-old man misidentified as an NPA leader was released by the Court of Appeals. He had been in custody since December 2024. This man's only crime was sharing the name of a wanted NPA leader. In its decision the CA said the lack of due diligence is a blow to the image of the PNP.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2075947/ca-frees-man-81-misidentified-by-pnp-cidg-as-npa-leader |
The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered an elderly man to be released from the Manila City Jail for being wrongly identified by authorities as a New People’s Army (NPA) leader and consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
The case of mistaken identity, the court said, was a blow to the image of the Philippine National Police because of the “evident lack of due diligence” on the part of the officers who six months ago arrested Prudencio Calubid Jr., an 81-year-old construction worker.
In a decision dated June 27, the CA’s 16th Division granted the writ of habeas corpus filed by the daughter of Calubid, whom agents of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) mistook for their target who had the same name—but minus the “Junior.”
It turned out that the CIDG was after another Prudencio Calubid, an alleged high-ranking officer of the communist NPA and longtime NDFP consultant.
The CA said it was convinced that the arrested person, known in his Olongapo City neighborhood also as “Tay Pruding,” was not the man the police were looking for.
The court directed a respondent in the petition, Supt. Lino Soriano, the Manila City Jail warden, to free Calubid Jr. immediately.
The other respondents are PNP chief Nicolas Torre III, who was the former head of the PNP-CIDG, and former PNP chief Rommel Marbil.In December last year, the police arrested Calubid Jr. for supposedly being the communist insurgent who had a P7.8-million bounty on his head.
According to court records, Calubid Jr. did not resist arrest since he was “confident he would be released as soon as they verified his identity.”
The CA castigated the manner by which the CIDG handled the investigation, noting that it merely relied on social media sources “as though a comprehensive and meticulous intelligence operation” was conducted.
The CIDG’s conclusion on the supposed resemblance of “Tay Pruding” with the other Calubid was “at best biased, subjective and speculative,” it added.
“It is not uncommon for Filipinos to (have) identical or similar names, though they are clearly different individuals. This is precisely why there are recognized methods of establishing one’s identity and uniqueness,” the court said, referring to government-issued IDs and other official records.
The “serious lapse in judgment” by the police could erode public trust in law enforcement, it said.
While law enforcers must be “vigilant in combating crimes,” CA said, the “fulfillment of their duty should not result in the subversion of basic freedoms.”
“This case does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, it sends the wrong message to the public that those tasked to serve and protect the people … are (the) very reason to fear injustice, and that fundamental rights may be easily overlooked for convenience, carelessness, or possibly, personal and selfish gains,” it added.
Human rights advocates denounced the six-month detention of Calubid Jr. as a “deliberate misidentification” driven by the “perverse incentives of a bounty system.”
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), who represented Calubid Jr. in the habeas corpus petition, said the CA ruling revealed “a deeper problem” and exposed how authorities would engage in “bounty-hunting” just to gain merits and incentives.
“A P7.8-million reward was offered for the real Prudencio Calubid’s capture. In such a system, law enforcement agencies, including the PNP, CIDG, and entities under the NTF-Elcac (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict), are incentivized not to uphold justice, but to deliver ‘results’ that align with operational quotas and reward mechanisms,” it said.
NUPL lawyers said they were planning to file countercharges against the officers who arrested and investigated Calubid Jr. over his “unlawful incarceration.”
The human rights watchdog Karapatan, through its deputy secretary general Maria Sol Taule, welcomed the court order.
“We are relieved that Tay Pruding is finally free,” Taule said in a statement. “In the first place, Calubid should not have been arrested and detained. He was subjected to harsh prison conditions, worsening his health condition.’’
“He is among the victims of a bounty system of government that has victimized countless others,” she said.
The other Calubid—the one that the police actually wanted—and his wife Celina Palma have been counted among the victims of enforced disappearances since they went missing in 2006.
Rather than conduct a proper intel operation the PNP relied on social media. This is less a blow the image of the PNP than it is business as usual. The NUPL says they may file countercharges but even if they do that is not going to change the culture of the PNP.
The OSG is seeking to overturn the CA's ruling and place this old man back in jail.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2079074/osg-wants-octogenarian-tagged-as-npa-back-in-jail |
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) is seeking to overturn a Court of Appeals (CA) decision that ordered the release of 81-year-old Prudencio Calubid Jr. from detention for being wrongly identified as a rebel leader—a move that rights group Karapatan denounced over the weekend.
In a 19-page motion for reconsideration dated June 30, government lawyers asked the appellate court to reconsider, reverse, and set aside its decision and enter a new one that would deny the privilege of writ of habeas corpus granted to Calubid Jr.
The writ of habeas corpus is a legal remedy for a person illegally deprived of liberty and to relieve him, if such restraint is illegal.
The OSG said Calubid Jr.’s failure to challenge the legality of his arrest in 2024 at the earliest opportunity and his voluntary submission to the jurisdiction of the trial court when he underwent arraignment “cured” the alleged defect in his arrest.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay, however, said the OSG’s bid to bring back an octogenarian to prison was “utterly devoid of substantive issues,” saying it harps on technicalities and merely repeated the Philippine National Police’s false claims that it had conducted “extensive investigation and intelligence gathering” to verify Calubid Jr.’s identity.
In its ruling issued on June 27, the CA’s 16th Division ordered Calubid Jr. released after granting the habeas corpus petition filed by his daughter.
According to Karapatan, Calubid Jr. is a retired technician and former overseas Filipino worker, who was misrepresented by his captors as Prudencio Calubid, a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) with a P7.8-million bounty on his head.The NDFP consultant was abducted and forcibly disappeared in Camarines Sur with five others by suspected state agents on June 26, 2006.
The police mistook Calubid Jr. for their target, who had the same name but without the suffix “Junior.”
Sounds like the OSG's arguments all hinge on technicalities. But the CA says it is an obvious case of mistaken identity with the old man sharing the name of a wanted NPA leader. Why not prove he is the guy rather than argue that his "failure to challenge the legality of his arrest in 2024 at the earliest opportunity and his voluntary submission to the jurisdiction of the trial court when he underwent arraignment “cured” the alleged defect in his arrest?"
The NUPL is also now saying the Anti-terror law has not served its purpose.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2078010/anti-terror-laws-purpose-not-achieved-five-years-on-lawyers |
Five years after it was signed into law, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA) has failed to fulfill its purpose of combating terrorism, according to National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) chair Edre Olalia.
“By and large … it will appear that the purported purpose of the Anti-Terror Law has not been achieved in running after the real terrorists, even as vaguely defined in the law itself,” Olalia told the Inquirer. “It has become more of a main tool in political repression.”
Case monitoring by rights group Karapatan shows that 227 individuals have been charged with violating the ATA, while 34 individuals have been designated “terrorists” by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC). Karapatan was among the rights groups present at a protest marking five years of the ATA at the Department of Justice earlier today.
“Apart from those more than 200 [charged] and this singular exception of Teves, we do not know of any individual organization that has been credibly charged (with violating) the terrorism law,” he said.
Olalia was referring to former Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. Teves, suspected mastermind of the assassination of former Gov. Roel Degamo, is among 13 individuals designated by the ATC as terrorists.
“The pattern is that these activists … especially in the provinces, they will charge them with the terrorism law using false and perjured witnesses, claiming that these individuals were part of armed encounters by the New People’s Army,” said Olalia, who is also transitional president of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers.
The ATA was signed into law on July 3, 2020, under then-President Rodrigo Duterte, amid opposition from rights groups, indigenous organizations, and civil society coalitions who fear vague definitions and sweeping powers. NUPL represented Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and other activist groups in a 2020 petition to the Supreme Court against the anti-terror law.
“We view this really as a very dangerous law, as proven,” Olalia said. “People may not have seen it five years ago, but people should see it abundantly now, five years after.”
They bring up an interesting point. If the Makabayan Bloc are CPP-NPA fronts the should have been designated terrorist groups by now. But they have not and terrorism continues to be an issue.
Terrorists also continue to surrender. In Surigao Sur an NPA rebel yielded and handed over two landmines.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1253389 |
A New People’s Army (NPA) guerrilla surrendered to the troops of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Special Forces Battalion (3SFBn) in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, on Tuesday.
In a statement on Wednesday, 3SFBn commander Lt. Colonel Jason Pangandoyon identified the rebel surrenderer as Dante Engayas Sanchez, who brought with him an AK-47 rifle and two anti-personnel mines.
“The surrender of Sanchez was the result of the collaborative efforts between the 3SFBn troops and the community in Barangay Diatagon, Lianga town,” Pangandoyon said.
Sanchez is now in the custody of the 3SFBn for debriefing and processing for his enrollment in the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
“We continue our call to the remaining NPA members to lay down their arms and avail of the government’s reintegration program,” Pangandoyon said.
He will definitely receive a lot of assistance in the form of money and food and housing.
8 ex-rebels in Sorsogon were given 100,000 pesos in cash to aid them in rentering society.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2076087/pnp-chief-gives-p100000-cash-aid-to-8-ex-rebels-in-sorsogon |
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Nicolas Torre III on Sunday, June 29, personally handed over P100,000 in financial aid to eight former communist rebels in this province.
The assistance forms part of the government’s reintegration program for rebel returnees, aimed at supporting their transition back into mainstream society.
Torre was in the city to lead the inauguration and blessing of a new police station here.
During his speech, he lauded the Police Regional Office in Bicol (PRO V), headed by Brigadier General Andre Perez Dizon, for its role in counterinsurgency efforts.
“We welcome them back into society and assure them of the government’s continued support, just like the assistance given by the provincial government of Sorsogon,” Torre told reporters.
During the event, Torre also showcased the PNP’s five-minute emergency response capability through 911, which was demonstrated via teleconferencing.
He said the system plays a vital role in saving lives and maintaining public order.
It's not clear if they got 100,000 each or if it was divided among them. Probably it was divided among them.
Three terrorists in Maguindanao Norte surrendered. They were pictured handing over RPG's while standing behind boxes of noodles and canned sardines.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1253391 |
Three militants operating under local terrorist groups surrendered to the Philippine Marines here, turning over two 60mm mortar launchers and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with one live round on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Marine Battalion Landing Team 2 (MBLT-2) said two of the extremists belonged to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) under the Kagui Karialan faction, while one operated under the Dawlah Islamiya (DI)-Hassan Group.
According to the MBLT-2, the extremists' surrender was primarily due to combat fatigue, family pressure, and fear of continued military operations. Both the BIFF and DI have a history of violence ranging from bomb-making, targeted killings, extortion, and terrorism, which has threatened the safety of civilians and military personnel.
The MBLT-2 said DI-Hassan members are hiding in Barangay Barira, Barira, Maguindanao del Norte, although its base is in the marshland of Maguindanao del Sur. They are part of the group led by Emarudin Kulaw Kasan and his father, Mustapha Kasan.
Last March 17, a military raid resulted in the neutralization of four individuals, including Mustapha Kasan, although Emarudin escaped. His father’s death reportedly triggered vows of revenge.
The MBLT-2 said the surrenderers are now entering formal reintegration procedures and will receive government-supported livelihood assistance.
As immediate aid, each received cash aid and a grocery package with rice, canned goods, and noodles, provided by MBLT-2 with stakeholders' support.
Seems they got tired of making bombs. Now they will get off scot-free as long as they apply for amnesty.
