'Web of lies' used to convict journalist Frenchie Cumpio, say rights groups

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January 22, 2026 | 11:38am

MANILA, Philippines — Rights groups are calling the conviction of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio on Thursday, January 22, a "miscarriage of justice" that resulted from a deliberate plot by the NTF-ELCAC to crush independent journalism in the country.

Judge Georgina Perez of the Regional Trial Court Branch 45 in Tacloban City sentenced Cumpio, 26, and lay worker Marielle Domequil, 28, to at least 12 years in prison for allegedly funding the New People's Army in 2019, while acquitting both on weapons charges. 

The verdict comes after more than six years of detention for Cumpio and Domequil, arrested in a February 2020 raid that rights groups say was designed to punish the journalist's coverage of military abuses in Eastern Visayas. 

Cumpio's case is well-known by rights groups and press freedom groups worldwide and had drawn the attention of Amal Clooney's Clooney Foundation for Justice, support from hundreds of journalists worldwide, and a 2024 prison visit from United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan.

Press freedom groups had closely watched the case as a test of whether the Marcos administration would break from its predecessor's pattern of using terrorism charges to silence journalists. 

Cumpio has long maintained her innocence, and observers say her conviction now threatens to set a precedent for prosecuting community reporters who cover military abuses. 

"This conviction is a blatant affirmation of how the justice system is being weaponized through NTF-ELCAC's lies and persecution," said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of human rights alliance KARAPATAN. "Frenchie and Marielle were not targeted because of evidence, but because of who they are and the work they do among the people."

Palabay said the acquittal on weapons charges confirms the accusations were fabricated from the start. "Yet the same web of lies, perjured testimonies, and manufactured intelligence was used to railroad the remaining conviction," she said. 

The charges stemmed from allegations that in 2019, in Catbalogan, Samar, Cumpio and Domequil delivered cash and provided logistical support to the NPA, violating the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act.

Palabay said the prosecution failed to establish the essential elements of terrorism financing, relying instead on intelligence claims treated as facts and testimonies that "collapsed under scrutiny."

"For nearly six years, Frenchie and Marielle endured prolonged detention, multiple criminal cases, asset freezing, and relentless red-tagging, all without credible, direct, or independent evidence," Palabay said. "Today's conviction institutionalizes lies and fabrications as acceptable substitutes for proof."

Kyle Domequil, Marielle's sister and convenor of the Free Tacloban 5 Network, said the verdict "prolongs the suffering" of the two women and their families.

"We reject this ruling and condemn the state's continued use of the courts as instruments of political persecution," the network said. "We stand with Frenchie and Marielle, with their families and communities, and with all political prisoners under the Marcos Jr. administration—now 761 strong as of February 2025."

'Partial victory'

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) called the weapons acquittal a partial victory but condemned the terrorism financing conviction.

"The verdict is an injustice, especially in light of a Court of Appeals reversal in the forfeiture case for the money confiscated in their arrest," NUJP said. "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 the conviction does not bode well for the media's ability to report on issues without fear of reprisal and retribution.

"Her case has been emblematic of the challenged state of press freedom, and more broadly of freedom of speech and expression, in the Philippines," NUJP said.

International condemnation

Reporters Without Borders and members of the #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition were present in court for the verdict, alongside representatives from Switzerland, Czech Republic and New Zealand as part of the Media Freedom Coalition.

"We are appalled by this verdict," said Aleksandra Bielakowska, RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau advocacy manager. "The RSF investigations and evidence presented in court by Frenchie Mae Cumpio's lawyers clearly show how fabricated this case has been from the very beginning."

Bielakowska called the conviction "a devastating failure on the part of the Philippine justice system and the authorities' 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. "This sentence only highlights the systemic issues in the country and the urgent need for comprehensive reforms."

The Committee to Protect Journalists also condemned the verdict and called on authorities to immediately free Cumpio. 

"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, CPJ Asia-Pacific director. "Although the journalist was cleared on the charge of illegal possession of firearms, the ruling underscores the lengths that Philippine authorities are willing to go to silence critical reporting."