Journalist jailed since 2020 denies Red links

JAIL VISIT Frenchie Mae Cumpio (right) is visited at Tacloban City Jail by UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan who was in the country in January on an official trip. —Photo from Irene Khan’s official X account

TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE, Philippines — Community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio denied being part of a terrorist organization when she appeared in court for the first time on Monday since she and her four companions were arrested by authorities in 2020.

Cumpio, who was affiliated with the Tacloban-based news group Eastern Vista, said she was not a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) as she testified before Judge Georgina Perez of the Regional Trial Court Branch 45 for more than an hour.

The 25-year-old journalist was one of five individuals, collectively referred to as the “Tacloban 5,” who were arrested four years ago for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. She also faces a separate charge for terrorism financing.

READ: Gov’t urged to drop charges vs Tacloban-based journalist

Cumpio and her coaccused—Mariel Domequil, Marissa Cabaljao, Mira Legion, and Alexander Philip Abinguna—were taken into custody on Feb. 7, 2020, by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police and the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade in Barangay 96, Calanipawan, Tacloban City.

The military, claiming that all five were linked to militant groups that were supposedly fronts for the CPP-NPA, maintained that Cumpio was the secretary of the CPP-NPA’s Regional White Area Committee (RWAC-EVRPC), while Domequil was a member of RWAC-EVRPC and also the finance officer of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Eastern Visayas.

Fabricated cases

Abinguna, the military added, was a member of Katungod-Sinirangan Bisayas, Legion, which was affiliated with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, and Cabaljao was with People Surge.

Cumpio, Domequil, and Abinguna remain detained at Tacloban City Jail, while Cabaljao and Legion were allowed by the court to post bail on charges of illegal possession of firearms.

The arrest of the “Tacloban 5” took place during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was accused of Red-tagging various human rights groups in the country. The incident prompted multiple human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, to call for the dismissal of the charges against Cumpio and her coaccused who they said were victims of fabricated cases.

During her testimony, Cumpio, wearing a yellow shirt and vest, recounted how the raiding officers dragged them from their bedroom and made them lie on the kitchen floor.

“All we saw were boots,” she said when asked by her lawyer if she could observe the actions of the raiding team members who claimed they found firearms and explosives in the room shared by Cumpio and Domequil.

Cumpio refuted the military’s allegations against her, emphasizing that she was a legitimate media worker of Eastern Vista, which runs a radio program on a local station.

Through her lawyers, she presented her media ID and receipts for payment to the radio station for airing their program called “Lingganay.”

Alternative media groups and rights advocates, meanwhile, trooped to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday to renew their call for the release of Cumpio.

DOJ response

Responding to the group, the DOJ said that state prosecutors would be objective in examining the case against her and her coaccused.

“We understand the significance of public interest in cases such as this, and we assure you that the DOJ remains dedicated to upholding the integrity of the legal process,” said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla in a statement.

Len Olea, secretary general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said they were happy that Cumpio “was able to debunk the allegations against her and her coaccused, adding that they were “confident her testimony was crucial for the dismissal of the charges” against them. —with reports from Jane Bautista and Gillian Villanueva