On November 11, 2024, Filipina journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio will testify in her trial before the Tacloban Regional Court for the first time since was detained more than four and a half years ago. Freedom Now calls on the government of the Philippines to drop the charges against Cumpio and her co-defendant Marielle Domequil; release them from prison immediately; and ensure they face no further harassment.
Frenchie Mae Cumpio is the executive director of the Eastern Vista news website and a radio news anchor at Aksyon Radyo Tacloban DYVL 819. Her reporting focused on alleged human rights abuses perpetrated by the police and military.
Cumpio was arrested in February 2020 during a series of pre-dawn police raids in Tacloban City, a coastal city located approximately 360 miles southeast of Manila. The arrest occurred days after she reported to the nonprofit foundation Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility that masked men had been tailing the staff of Eastern Vista. In one instance, a man came to the Eastern Vista office with a picture of Cumpio asking if staff knew her whereabouts. Cumpio was arrested along with four other human rights activists: Marielle Domequil, Marissa Cabaljao, Mira Legion, and Alexander Abinguna. The group is collectively referred to as the “Tacloban 5.”
Cumpio and Domequil were charged with illegal possession of firearms after authorities alleged to have found a weapon during their raid. Authorities claim that Eastern Vista operated as a front for the Communist Party and its armed wing, the New People’s Army. Cumpio and her colleagues have denied these accusations. The Filipino government has often used the tactic of “red-tagging,” or labeling individuals as communists, to bring spurious criminal charges against journalists and human rights advocates. The arrest of the Tacloban 5 occurred amid the government’s broader campaign to shut down several independent news outlets, including Rappler and ABS-CBN, a television network.
In July 2021, new charges were filed against Cumpio alleging that she was financing terrorist activities based upon money was found during the raid on her home and office. A civil forfeiture case was subsequently initiated against her as a result of these charges. If convicted of all charges she could face a maximum of 52 years in prison.
After more than four long years, justice is overdue for Cumpio and all the Tacloban 5. Freedom Now calls on the government of the Philippines to uphold its international human rights obligations by ensuring a fair and expeditious trial for Cumpio and her co-defendant. We urge the authorities to end its prosecution of the Tacloban 5 and release Cumpio, Domequil, and Abinguna immediately.