Journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio was convicted of “financing terrorism” on January 22, 2026, alongside her co-accused Marielle Domequil, a lay worker for a church-based organization, in a ruling that could send both women to prison for 12 to 18 years and impose fines of up to 500,000 Pesos.
Arrested on what rights advocates describe as trumped-up charges in 2020, the two were also acquitted of separate allegations involving illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Cumpio worked as a community journalist and radio broadcaster in Leyte before her arrest. She is the first Filipino reporter charged under terrorism financing laws, which, according to defense lawyer Julianne Agpalo, the Philippine government has increasingly used to stifle dissent.
Bi Lih Yi, Asia Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists, believes that Cumpio’s conviction sends a chilling effect not only among journalists in the Philippines but also worldwide. “It has far-reaching implications because of the trend of using terrorism charges to go after journalists in autocratic countries like Russia, Myanmar using such absurd and ridiculous charges to go after journalists,” she added.
Yi called the ruling “appalling and absurd,” saying it amounted to a grave injustice and exposed how state authorities can be wielded to silence journalists who challenge government policies.
The Tacloban Regional Trial Court’s decision relied heavily on the testimonies of four former New People’s Army (NPA) members, including Alma Gabin, who also testified in a separate terrorism-financing case against development worker Jazmin Aguisanda-Jerusalem.
Aguisanda-Jerusalem said both her case and that of the Leyte Center for Development (LCDe) similarly proceeded on the basis of affidavits and allegations alone, without any material or financial evidence. She contended that testimonies from rebel returnees and military witnesses were fabricated and fell short of the standards required for terrorism-financing charges. She also stressed that LCDe’s decades of humanitarian work in conflict-affected communities have been wrongly characterized as insurgent-linked activity, despite its long-standing cooperation with local governments.
Aguisanda-Jerusalem condemned what she described as the misuse of counterterrorism laws against civil society groups and voiced concern over the convictions of Marielle Domequil and Frenchie Mae Cumpio.
Domequil and Cumpio were convicted based on the testimonies of four alleged rebel returnees who claimed that they saw them in Samar receiving and turning over P100,000 in cash allegedly meant to fund the New People’s Army (NPA).
Judge Georgina Perez rejected the defendants’ evidence, including social media activity logs, for not proving their precise location.
The Court of Appeals (CA) overturned the decision last year, ruling there was no evidence linking the 557,360 Pesos found in their apartment to terrorism. Testimonies alone were deemed insufficient, and the CA emphasized that Cumpio and Domequil were not legally designated terrorists. Funds were explained as donations for humanitarian work through “Stand with Leyte and Samar.”
Judge Perez had relied on Duterte’s 2017 proclamation designating the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing NPA as a terrorist group, even though the alleged financing occurred in 2019, before the 2020 anti-terror law.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) called the verdict as unjust, pointing out that the Court of Appeals had overturned the seizure of money from their arrest. The charges are fabricated, based on a dubious arrest and unreliable witnesses, said the NUJP in a statement.
Human rights organizations say the case reflects a broader pattern of so-called “red-tagging,” in which journalists and civil society workers or organizations are labeled as communist sympathizers or members of the NPA to justify surveillance, arrests, or prosecution.
The conviction has triggered ninety-two media organizations and press freedom groups from around the world, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and a coalition of human rights NGOs, to write a letter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., urging him to intervene and secure Cumpio’s immediate release.
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion Irene Khan pointed out in a statement that the arrest and criminal charges, following months of “red-tagging,” surveillance, intimidation, and harassment, appear to have been filed in retaliation for Cumpio’s work as a journalist.
Cumpio’s lawyers applied for bail and appealed the January 22, 2026 court ruling, arguing that bail is discretionary since the offense is not punishable by life imprisonment and that the case relied solely on uncorroborated testimonial evidence. On February 16, 2026, the Tacloban court rejected the bail application, ruling that there was “no strong or compelling reason” to grant bail and that temporary freedom could increase the “risk of evasion.”
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