A Filipino journalist who spent nearly six years in pre-trial detention has been found guilty of terror financing, in a case that press freedom groups have condemned as fabricated. Frenchie Mae Cumpio, now 26, was arrested in February 2020 after police claimed to have found a hand grenade, a firearm, and a communist flag in her bed during a raid on her boarding house in Tacloban.
Cumpio, who hosted a radio show and worked as executive director of a local news website, had reported on harassment of poor farmers by army units. Her colleague Neil Eco said her reporting “put her in the eye of the government and the army”. Before her arrest, Cumpio and human rights activist Alexander Abinguna had requested an inspection of their offices by the Philippines Commission on Human Rights to verify there were no planted materials, but the raid occurred before the inspection could take place.
Prosecutors accused Cumpio of funding terrorism, alleging that several thousand pounds in cash seized were for that purpose. Cumpio said the money came from a fundraising campaign. She also faced charges of double murder, which were later dropped. Her lawyer described the case as “pure harassment”.
Rights groups say Cumpio’s detention is part of a wider pattern of “red tagging” – accusing activists and journalists of being communist insurgents – which worsened under former president Rodrigo Duterte. Reporters Without Borders ranks the Philippines among the most dangerous countries for journalists, with at least 147 killed since 1986.
The Philippine government denied the charges were politically motivated, stating it “stands on high moral ground and rejects the rhetoric of ‘red-tagging’”. The court is expected to deliver its verdict on Thursday; Cumpio faces up to 40 years in prison.
