Frenchie Cumpio, a 26-year-old community journalist, was convicted of terror financing in the Tacloban regional court and sentenced to up to 18 years after nearly six years in detention. The court said it relied on testimony from former rebels who accused Cumpio and her roommate of supplying the New People’s Army with cash, weapons and fabric. Rights groups, the UN special rapporteur and press freedom organisations condemned the ruling as an attack on journalists and said the case reflects harmful 'red-tagging' practices; an appeal and a pending bail application have been announced.
Philippine Reporter Frenchie Cumpio Convicted of Terror Financing; Rights Groups Call Verdict 'Absurd'
Filipino journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio arrives Thursday at the regional court in Tacloban, where she was found guilty on terror financing charges (Jam STA ROSA)(Jam STA ROSA/AFP/AFP)
A young community journalist who spent nearly six years in an overcrowded provincial jail was convicted on a terror-financing charge on Thursday, drawing sharp criticism from international rights groups and a UN expert who described the case as a "travesty of justice." Frenchie Cumpio, 26, and her former roommate Marielle Domequil were found guilty in the Tacloban regional court and face prison terms of up to 18 years.
Judge Georgina Uy Perez read the verdict after the court said it was persuaded by testimony from former rebels who alleged the two women supplied the New People's Army (NPA), a designated terrorist group, with cash, weapons and fabric for clothing. Both women were acquitted on a lesser weapons charge; the court said they will be eligible for parole in roughly 12.5 years.
Background and Reaction
Cumpio and Domequil were initially arrested in February 2020 on allegations of possessing a handgun and a grenade. More than a year later, prosecutors added the more serious terror-financing charge, which originally carried a potential 40-year sentence. Cumpio spent almost six years in a provincial prison while the case proceeded amid repeated postponements.
Human rights organisations, media groups and UN experts have denounced the conviction. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said the charges appeared to be "in retaliation for her work as a journalist," and organisations including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders called the ruling a blatant attack on press freedom. The Clooney Foundation for Justice has also monitored the case and criticised the lengthy pretrial detention and slow pace of proceedings.
'This absurd verdict shows that the various pledges made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to uphold press freedom are nothing but empty talk,' said Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Next Steps
Defense lawyer Norberto Robel said the legal team will appeal and has a pending application for bail. Supporters and colleagues of Cumpio maintain she was a victim of so-called 'red-tagging'—the practice of labelling critics as communist sympathisers to discredit and silence them.
Outside the courthouse, Cumpio's mother, Lala, who visited her daughter roughly once a month in prison, wept with family members as the verdict was announced. In September, more than 250 journalists and media organisations had urged President Marcos to release Cumpio and described the charges as "trumped up." Prosecutors declined to comment to AFP outside the courthouse.
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