By AARON ERNEST CRUZ
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Led by Karapatan, several rights groups called out the government to surface and free all political prisoners during the observance of the International Day of Victims of Torture in front of the Department of Justice on Thursday, June 26.
Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), expressed their solidarity and support to political prisoners. They condemned the continued weaponization of torture by state forces and urges the immediate release of all political prisoners.
One of the recent unjust political detention is that of 81-year old tatay Prudencio Cebu Calubid Jr., illegally arrested by the Philippines National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on December 7, 2024.
Calubid Jr. was misidentified with his namesake Prudencio Calubid, a National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant who has been missing since 2006 and has a P 7.8 million ($ 137,724.05) bounty.
Despite his age, serious ailment of a chronic disease, and sufficient evidence to prove his innocence, Calubid Jr. was mentally tortured by his captors and forced to admit to being someone he is not. He is still in detention at Manila City Jail.
“The PNP-CIDG exploited my father, who is innocent, by [arresting] him to claim the government’s reward. I hope they feel guilty for what they did to my 81-year-old father,” Analyn Calubid, daughter of Calubid Jr said.
With the help of the National Union of Peoples Lawyers (NUPL) and other rights groups, they filed a petition of writ of habeas corpus to question the unlawful detention of Calubid Jr.
Calubid’s case is one of 745 individuals illegally arrested during the term of Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. as monitored by Karapatan from June 2024 to March 2025.
Human rights lawyer Sol Taule, Karapatan deputy secretary general, said in an interview with Bulatlat that human rights violation under Marcos Jr. is still prevalent as he followed the “footsteps” of his predecessor former president Rodrigo Duterte of harassing and other forms of human rights violation, especially the extra-judicial killing during his campaign on war on drugs.
“The NTF-ELCAC is still there, the counterinsurgency [program] is still there, which really targets ordinary Filipino citizens. So these are the causes of EJKs, enforced disappearances, and illegal arrests,” Taule explained.
Torture survivors and unresolved cases
John Griefren Argueli, urban poor activist and one of the Angat 2 political prisoners, is a torture survivor who was illegally arrested in 2019 while putting up campaign posters during the election period.
Arguelli recalled being imprisoned at Bulacan provincial jail for six years because of other trumped up charges. He was released last February 4 due to lack of evidence on the charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
“Like most of those who have experienced torture and the filing of fabricated cases, we were also abducted and experienced mental and physical torture at the hands of this reactionary government… [Torture] is the response of the government to our calls to address our basic rights in this manner,” Arguelli said.
Concepcion Empeño and Linda Cadapan recalls the case of their respective daughters, Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan ,as they amplify the call for their surfacing. They were disappeared in 2006 by Jovito “Butcher” Palparan who has been found guilty for kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
“Jovito Palparan and two soldiers were already imprisoned. But Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño are still not here with us, are still not here,” Linda Cadapan said.
Implementing human rights law
Philippines has laws protecting human rights such as Anti-Torture Act of 2009 and Anti-Enforced Disappearance Law of 2012. These laws are supposed to comply with and commit to some conventions of the United Nations. However, human rights groups said these laws are not implemented well and so crimes and violations of human rights are still prevalent and are even used on groups and people critical to the government and on marginalized sectors.
“We have laws, but the question is, are they effectively protecting people’s rights? In our opinion, no, because no police or military personnel involved in torture have been prosecuted. For example, the case of Jhed and Jhonilla. Many individuals were abducted, hurt, tortured, and the ones who did it are not being held accountable,” Taule said.
SELDA also lamented that these legal measures reflect insincerity as it fails to stop cases of torture and abuse committed by the state.
“This persistent pattern of human rights violations underscores the fact that laws alone have never been sufficient and effective against torture and other rights violations, and reflects the State’s hypocrisy in claiming to protect human rights and holding perpetrators accountable,”
SELDA calls for immediate enforcement of anti-torture legislation, investigation and prosecution of all torture cases, and dismantling of the culture of impunity that has allowed these violations to continue.
SELDA urges the government to fully implement anti-torture laws and investigate all torture cases efficiently to break down the culture of impunity that exist in the country that allows these violations to continue. “Survivors must be supported with access to justice, medical and psychological care and reparations,” the statement reads. (With reports from Michel Joy Radam) (RTS, AMU)
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