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TACLOBAN CITY , Philippines — A regional trial court yesterday convicted community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and co-accused Mariel Domequil of terror financing, but acquitted them for illegal possession of firearms and explosives for lack of strong evidence and inconsistencies of witnesses during trial.
Already in prison for six years, they face at least another six years in detention. Cumpio and lay worker Domequil broke down in tears and hugged each other as the guilty verdict was read.
Cumpio, 26, is the first Filipina journalist to be prosecuted under terror financing laws, which defense lawyer Julianne Agpalo said have become the government’s “weapon of choice” for silencing dissent.
Another counsel for the defense, Norberto Palomino, said at a news conference that they will file a motion for reconsideration before the RTC Branch 45 presided over by Judge Georgina Uy-Perez, among other legal remedies, within the 15-day reglementary period, and will also ask for bail for their temporary liberty.
Tight security measures were implmented inside and around the court, as protest activites outside were monitored by authorities.
Cumpio and Domequil were immediately brought back to the facility where they have been detained since their arrest in February 2020.
Another defense lawyer, Norberto Robel Jr., asserted that their team also has merits to argue before the higher court.
In a copy of the decision seen by AFP, the court said it was convinced by the testimony of former rebels who said the pair had provided the New People’s Army (NPA), a designated terrorist group, with cash, arms and fabric for clothing.
The Samar-Leyte region that is home to Tacloban is one of the last remaining operating areas of the Maoist insurgency.
Both Cumpio and her advocates have insisted she was a victim of “red-tagging,” in which the government links its critics to the communist forces to silence them.
Tacloban 5
Cumpio, Domequil, Marissa Cabaljao, Mira Legion and Alexander Philip Abinguna, collectively referred to as the Tacloban 5, were arrested during police operations in Tacloban City and have been facing charges related to firearms, explosives and alleged terror financing.
Cumpio had been charged with double murder and multiple attempted murder linked to a 2019 incident in Northern Samar, but subsequent assessment by Reporters without Borders (RSF) and the Commission on Human Rights reported no material evidence placing her at the scene.
Last Nov. 6, the Laoang, Northern Samar Regional Trial Court nullified the murder charges against Cumpio, citing discrepancies between the identity of the person named in the complaint and the individual arrested.
Cumpio has remained in detention since Feb. 7, 2020, following police raids that also led to the arrest of Domequil, Cabaljao, Legion and Abinguna.
In 2025, the Court of Appeals nullified a civil forfeiture case brought by the Anti?Money Laundering Council against Cumpio and her former roommate Domequil, reversing the forfeiture of P557,360 seized during the 2020 operations.
Despite these rulings, the group continues to face charges stemming from the raid six years ago, while Abinguna’s separate case also remains active after the trial court denied his motion.
Various media and human rights groups have reiterated calls for the release of the detained individuals as their cases proceed.
Lala, mother of Cumpio, maintained that her daughter is not a terrorist and Perez’s decision is not acceptable.
Following an evening mass on Wednesday, Cumpio’s mother told AFP that she visited her daughter in prison once each month, bringing her groceries, medication and chicken from Jollibee.
Bringing in the gravy and soft drinks that accompanied the fast food meals was prohibited by guards, she added.
“Of course, I’m worried,” Lala said of the looming decision. “My youngest keeps asking when his big sister will come home.”
She broke down in tears alongside her two sons outside the courthouse as the verdict was announced.
Kyle Domequil, sister of Mariel, said that the Tacloban 5 paid an unconscionable price simply for doing their work as journalists and lay workers to help uplift the lives of the marginalized sector in Region 8.
“Keeping her detained or convicting her would be unfair to our colleague and send a worrying message to journalists, media workers and everyone in the country,” she said.
Cumpio and Domequil have denied allegations that the money confiscated from them during their arrest was intended to support the NPA, saying these were to be used to support local farmers.
At the time of her arrest, Cumpio was the executive director of alternative media outfit Eastern Vista and was a radio broadcaster covering community issues.
‘Absurd’
On Thursday, Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, condemned the court’s decision.
“This absurd verdict shows that the various pledges made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to uphold press freedom are nothing but empty talk,” she said. “The ruling underscores the lengths that Philippine authorities are willing to go to silence critical reporting.”
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, in a separate statement, described the decision as an injustice, noting the Court of Appeals decision that reversed the forfeiture case for the money confiscated in their arrest.
“We have held from the start that the charges against them are trumped up and are products of a questionable arrest and testimony from dubious witnesses,” the group said.
Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager for RSF, said the verdict demonstrated a “blatant disregard for press freedom.”
“The Philippines should serve as an international example of protecting media freedom – not a perpetrator that red-tags, prosecutes and imprisons journalists simply for doing their work,” she said.
Groups have described the case as “emblematic of the challenged state of press freedom” in the Philippines, with United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan calling the case a “travesty of justice.”
The National Union of People’s Lawyers, which represented Cumpio and Domequil, said they are studying the decision, which they said “demands the highest level of public scrutiny.”
Prosecutors declined to speak with AFP outside the courthouse.
In September, more than 250 journalists and media groups called on President Marcos to release Cumpio, calling the charges “trumped up.” – Janvic Mateo, AFP
