In a controversial ruling that has drawn widespread condemnation, Filipino journalist Frenchie Cumpio has been found guilty of terror financing by a court in Tacloban, Leyte Island, the Philippines. The 26-year-old community journalist and radio broadcaster, along with her former roommate Marielle Domequil, were sentenced to 12-18 years in prison on Thursday, in a case that rights groups and a UN rapporteur have labelled a “travesty of justice”.
Cumpio and Domequil were initially arrested in February 2020 on weapons charges, accused of possessing a handgun and a grenade. Over a year later, a terror financing charge, with a potential 40-year sentence, was added to the case. Both women have maintained their innocence, insisting they are victims of “red-tagging” – a practice in which the government links its critics to a long-running communist insurgency in order to silence them.
Speaking outside the courthouse, Cumpio’s lawyer, Norberto Robel, said the legal team would be filing an appeal. “Despite this [ruling], there is still a legal remedy and a pending application for bail,” he stated.
The case has been closely monitored by human rights organisations, including Amal Clooney’s Clooney Foundation for Justice, which had previously questioned the lengthy pre-trial detention, citing “repeated postponements and slow progress”. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan had also said the charges against Cumpio appeared to be “in retaliation for her work as a journalist”.
Beh Lih Yi, the Asia-Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned the court’s decision, describing it as an “absurd verdict” that “shows that the various pledges made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to uphold press freedom are nothing but empty talk”. She added that this was the first time a journalist had been charged with financing terrorism in the Philippines, underscoring “the lengths that Philippine authorities are willing to go to silence critical reporting”.
Outside the courthouse, riot police blocked a crowd of supporters, including Cumpio’s mother, Lala, from entering the courtyard. Aleksandra Bielakowska, the advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders, said the verdict demonstrated a “blatant disregard for press freedom” and that 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”.
The case has sparked widespread outrage, with more than 250 journalists and media groups calling on President Marcos to release Cumpio, describing the charges as “trumped up”. As the verdict was announced, Cumpio’s mother, Lala, broke down in tears alongside her two sons outside the courthouse, their cries echoing the broader concerns over the state of press freedom in the Philippines.
