12 to 18 years imprisonment
TACLOBAN CITY — A Regional Trial Court (RTC) here on Thursday, January 22, sentenced community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio to 12 to 18 years in prison after finding her guilty of financing terrorism, a ruling that drew condemnation from press freedom groups and shocked her family who had expected her acquittal after nearly six years in detention.
RTC Branch 45 presiding Judge Georgina Perez convicted Cumpio and her co-accused, Marielle Domequil, a worker of a church-based organization, for violating Republic Act 10168, or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.
The court, however, acquitted both of charges of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives, a non-bailable offense.
Cumpio, who turns 27 on Friday, January 23, and Domequil were immediately taken into custody and boarded onto a prison vehicle at around 8:30 a.m., under heavy guard by jail personnel.
Family members said they were unprepared for the conviction. Kyle Domequil, Mariel’s sister, said they had brought clothes to court, believing the cases would be dismissed.
“We prepared some clothing for them to wear because we were hoping that the cases would be dismissed by the judge,” she told reporters, adding that they were not even able to hug the two women before they were taken away.
Roxy Cumpio, Frenchie Mae’s mother, said the family had also planned to celebrate her daughter’s birthday. “Now, much as we want to visit her right away, we could not do that because Fridays are not open for jail visits,” she said, appealing for compassion and the possibility of bail.
Lawyers for Cumpio and Domequil said they are studying their legal options, including filing a motion for reconsideration, seeking bail, or elevating the case to a higher court.
The conviction sparked sharp criticism from local and international press freedom advocates.
Bi Lih Yi, Asia Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said the ruling has far-reaching implications. “This decision sets a precedent as Frenchie Mae is the first journalist in the world to be convicted of financing terrorism,” she said, warning of a chilling effect on journalists in the Philippines and abroad.
Yi described the verdict as “appalling and absurd,” arguing that terrorism charges are increasingly used to silence journalists critical of government policies. She said CPJ believes in Cumpio’s innocence and will continue campaigning for her and Domequil’s release.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) also denounced the ruling, reiterating its position that the charges were “trumped up” and rooted in what it described as a questionable arrest and testimonies from dubious witnesses. The group said the case has become emblematic of the state of press freedom and freedom of expression in the country.
The terrorism financing charge stemmed from allegations that Cumpio and Domequil traveled to Catbalogan City, Samar, on March 29, 2021, where they allegedly provided cash and other support to members of the New People’s Army (NPA), which the government has designated as a terrorist organization.
The case was filed on October 13, 2021, more than a year after the two were arrested on February 7, 2020, in Tacloban City for alleged illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. It was later transferred on June 10, 2022, to RTC Branch 45, the designated anti-terrorism court in Eastern Visayas.
Defense lawyers partly blamed the conviction on testimonies from what they described as “self-serving military assets.”
The Police Regional Office-8 (PRO-8), which filed the cases through the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), welcomed the ruling, saying it reflected judicial independence and the rule of law.
“The conviction for terrorism financing highlights the government’s firm commitment to combating terrorism and cutting off financial support to any terrorist activities,” PRO-8 said in a statement.
During the promulgation of the decision, police deployed about 197 personnel within and around the court premises. Police Col.
Analiza Armeza, PRO-8 information officer, said the heavy security was due to the high-profile nature of the case to ensure peace and order.
The Department of Justice, for its part, said the conviction underscores the government’s resolve to enforce anti-terrorism financing laws and disrupt financial support networks of terrorist organizations.
“During trial, the prosecution established that the accused were not merely a journalist and a lay worker, but were in fact finance officers of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC), the regional arm of the CPP-NPA in Eastern Visayas. Evidence showed that, in their capacity as finance officers, they facilitated the delivery of cash and ammunition to CPP-NPA members in March 2019, the acts forming the basis of the indictment,” the DOJ said in a statement.
JOEY A. GABIETA
