After more than half a decade of legal battles and detention, community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil were found guilty of “terrorism financing” while being acquitted for “illegal possession of firearms” by the Tacloban Regional Trial Court Branch 45 on January 22.
Both Cumpio and Domequil were among those arrested in numerous raids back on February 7, 2020, who were collectively referred to as the “Tacloban 5,” including rights advocates Marissa Cabaljao and Mira Legion, who were both released on bail earlier, and Alexander Philip Abinguna, who remains in detention without trial.
The recent ruling contradicted an October 2025 Court of Appeals (CA) decision that voided the civil forfeiture case against Cumpio and Domequil, in which the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) failed to draw suspicions against the two and “no other evidence aside from testimonies” linking the P557,360 cash seized to the New People’s Army.
In 2020, authorities labeled Cumpio and Domequil as members of an “identified communist terrorist group,” and while serving a search warrant at the Eastern Vista office, claimed to have found a firearm, a fragmentation grenade, and a Communist Party of the Philippines flag.
A double murder charge against Cumpio was dismissed in a Laoang court last November 2025, where the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) investigation in July 2025 exposed that the accusations rested on testimony of an “alleged former rebel” who had become an army auxiliary, alleging Cumpio was a rebel recruiter and was present during the 2019 ambush in Northern Samar.
“Attempts to apprehend the journalist failed as not only was her name misspelled, but she had already been in detention for months due to the first case,” the RSF said in their report.
Cumpio served as the executive director of the Eastern Vista, a member outfit of Altermidya – People’s Media Network in Visayas, and a news anchor of DYVL Aksyon Radyo’s show Lingganay han Kamatuoran, reporting on military abuses and human rights violations in the Eastern Visayas; while Domequil is a lay worker in the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, a church-based organization working for the village poor.
Groups assail ‘miscarriages of justice‘
The #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition, an international and local press freedom organizations composed of Altermidya, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), and RSF, has repeatedly flagged concerns over Cumpio’s prolonged detention.
In the investigation during the night of their arrest, RSF noted clear discrepancies and a lack of substantive evidence in the accusations against the two, raising concerns about the possibility of fabrication in the case.
“From dubious police methods to testimonies riddled with inconsistencies, this investigation exposes the emptiness of the accusations and the total impunity of those who brought the charges, without even attempting to be credible… it is unthinkable that such troubling facts could lead to anything other than her acquittal and release, ” Head of RSF’s Investigation Desk Arnaud Froger pointed out.
During her visit to Cumpio and other co-defendants, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Irene Khan highlighted the alarming spike in state repression through the weaponization of red-tagging to silence dissent against activists and critics of the government.
“During my visit to the Philippines in January 2024, I heard many similar stories of ‘red tagging’ followed by arrest on fabricated charges for serious offences and prolonged detention to harass journalists and human rights advocates, and I have conveyed my serious concerns to the government,” she said in a press release.
Following the conviction, the #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition, led by the RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Advocacy Manager Aleksandra Bielakowska, condemned the court’s final order in a joint statement, supporting the immediate appeal for Cumpio and Domequil’s release as a symbol of protecting and preserving democracy in the newsrooms.
“Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s conviction represents 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.”
In a press release statement, KARAPATAN Secretary-General Cristina Palabay debunked the false convictions as part of a wider National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) plot to crush press freedom and activism, vilifying legitimate expression of discontent to the government as subversion and sedition.
“This conviction shows how the justice system is being used to carry out the lies and persecution pushed by the NTF-ELCAC and the Anti-Terrorism Council… Frenchie and Marielle were targeted not because of evidence, but because of their work among the people. This ruling punishes journalism, humanitarian service, and community organizing.”
Despite the verdict, Kyle Dominiquil, the sister of Marielle, voiced hope in the firearms acquittal and future legal remedies that could overturn the terrorism financing conviction.
“I kind of expected the judges decision na magiging…impartial pero dili to siya expected at the same time… The Court of Appeals decision mao pay pag-latag sa statement nila nga there’s not enough evidence linking both Ate Marielle and Ate Frenchie [connected to] CPP-NPA-NDF… pero I’m still optimistic na ma grant ang petition,” Dominquil shared in a press briefing.
At least 227 individuals have already been charged with trumped-up violations of the Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the RA 11068 or Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.