4 weeks ago
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FOR seven long years, Carmela Cabrebra Arban has been languishing behind bars for a crime she claimed she did not commit.
According to Arban, who is a mother and a respected community member, her only mistake was being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
In 2017, police raided Arban's home in Binangonan, Rizal, in pursuit of a drug suspect — her husband. She was neither involved nor implicated in any drug-related activities, yet she was arrested simply for being there.
Village officials, led by chairman Miriam Gatulayao, immediately protested. Friends, neighbors, and former classmates from Angono Private High School vouched for her innocence.
Now, a growing movement is demanding justice, urging authorities to right the wrongs of a brutal drug war that tore families apart and left countless innocent lives in ruins.
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On Valentine's Day, her former classmates, local officials, and concerned citizens submitted a formal petition to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for an immediate review of her case.
"Her story is a painful reminder of the innocent lives crushed by a war on drugs that abandoned justice," the petition read. "She has suffered long enough. Free her now."
Sent through Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, the letter attested to Arban's good character and the tragic injustice of her wrongful imprisonment.
"We, her classmates, know her. We grew up with her. She is kind, hardworking, and honest. She is not a criminal," they wrote. "The charges against her were baseless. She was a victim of a system that turned a blind eye to truth."
According to the petitioners, Arban is not alone. Thousands of innocent people — mothers, fathers, children — were supposedly caught in the crossfire of a heavy-handed drug war that critics said disregarded due process. Families were shattered, and countless individuals remain behind bars, paying for crimes they never committed.
"She is just one of many who suffered under a campaign that valued body counts over justice," the petitioners declared. "How many more remain locked away, their voices unheard, their lives stolen?"
As the government reassessed its drug policies, advocates demand that reviewing wrongful convictions be made a priority.
"The truth is undeniable: the drug war was a failure. It cost lives, broke families, and destroyed future," the petition read. "The time for justice is now. The innocent must be freed."
Inside her prison cell, Arban has missed birthdays, graduations, and the everyday joys of motherhood. Her children have grown up without her, their lives shaped by an absence that should never have been.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," the petitioners said. "Every extra day behind bars is another day stolen from her and her children. This injustice must end — now."
