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Regional Trial Courtroom Department 45 of Tacloban Metropolis, Leyte convicts Cumpio and lay employee Marielle Domequil of their terrorism financing case however acquits them of their unlawful possession of firearms and explosives case
It is a creating story.
TACLOBAN, Philippines – The Regional Trial Courtroom (RTC) Department 45 of Tacloban Metropolis, Leyte, on Thursday, January 22, convicted journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay employee Marielle Domequil of their terrorism financing case however acquitted them of their unlawful possession of firearms and explosives case.
Cumpio and Domequil have been arrested on February 7, 2020, on the workplace of different information outlet Japanese Vista in Tacloban Metropolis, along with rights advocates Alexander Philip Abinguna, Mira Legion, and Marissa Cabaljao. They’re collectively known as the “Tacloban 5.”
In accordance with their authorized counsel, Legion and Cabaljao are out on bail, whereas Abinguna’s facet of the circumstances has but to progress. At current, solely Cumpio and Domequil obtained judgment on their circumstances.
In 2020, authorities accused Cumpio and Domequil of being members of an “recognized Communist Terrorist Group,” and upon serving a search warrant on the Japanese Vista workplace, claimed that they found a firearm, a fragmentation grenade, and a Communist Celebration of the Philippines flag there.
Days earlier than the arrest, Cumpio knowledgeable different information community Altermidya that unidentified males had been patrolling Japanese Vista’s workplace. In 2021, whereas already detained, authorities filed a terrorism financing criticism towards the Tacloban 5.
Cumpio, who’s on the middle of the circumstances, was additionally accused of taking part in an ambush that resulted within the deaths of two troopers in January 2020.
A Reporters With out Borders (RSF) investigation in July 2025 revealed that the accusations have been supported by the testimony of an “alleged former insurgent” — turned military auxiliary — who claimed Cumpio was a insurgent recruiter and was current throughout an ambush on troopers in Northern Samar.
“Makes an attempt to apprehend the journalist failed as not solely was her identify misspelled, however she had already been in detention for months as a result of first case,” the RSF mentioned of their report.
In June 2025, United Nations Particular Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan had referred to as Cumpio’s state of affairs a “travesty of justice,” noting that the younger journalist would have already spent as a lot time in detention as she would have in jail if she have been discovered responsible.
Cumpio was Japanese Vista’s govt director, and for many of her profession, she was identified for masking points such because the killing of farmers and land-grabbing in Leyte’s neighboring provinces.
Domequil was a member of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines and has on many events advocated for the rights of farmers and peasant staff in Japanese Visayas.
A number of media teams have lambasted the Rodrigo Duterte administration for its crackdown on activists and media staff like Cumpio. At current, worldwide media networks have referred to as out the Marcos administration and the justice system for lengthy delays within the circumstances of detained journalists. – Rappler.com
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