2 MIN READ

By SHERWIN DE VERA
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Press freedom organizations renewed their calls for the release of detained journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio ahead of a court ruling scheduled for Monday, March 23, on motions challenging her conviction and seeking bail.

The Free Frenchie Mae Cumpio coalition urged authorities to overturn her “unjust conviction” for terrorism financing and to allow her immediate release after more than six years in detention. 

“The conviction of Frenchie Mae Cumpio is a clear miscarriage of justice, and it is imperative that the Philippines quash this alarming decision,” the coalition stated.

Composed of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and People’s Alternative Media Network in Manila, along with global press freedom organizations like Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the network has repeatedly called for her release and well-being.

Earlier this year, 90 press associations and unions also called on President Marcos to release Cumpio.

Police and military arrested Cumpio in February 2020, together with lay worker Marielle Domequil, following a raid in their rented apartment.  At the time, she served as Eastern Vista executive director and radio anchor at Aksyon Radyo-Tacloban DYVL, reporting on alleged police and military abuses and community welfare issues in Eastern Visayas.

Their January 22 conviction, which a Tacloban court based on the testimonies of alleged former rebels, has been widely criticized by press organizations and human rights groups in the country. They face 12 to 18 years in prison.

Both Cumpio and Domequil were earlier acquitted of charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. The Court of Appeals has also ruled in their favor in a civil forfeiture case concerning the cash found during their arrest.

The case has also caught international concern. 

This March, United Nations experts described their conviction as a “deeply troubling development,” noting their long pre-trial detention and the contentious charges filed against them, viewed as a retaliation for their human rights work. 

“At a minimum, they should be released on bail while they pursue their appeal,” five UN experts said in a joint statement, including Ben Sual, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

The Philippines ranked 116th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.#nordis.net