CA urged to junk conviction of Tacloban-based journalist
An advocacy group on Monday urged the Court of Appeals (CA) to overturn the conviction of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and community worker Marielle Domequil due to the “clear legal inconsistency” in their case.
Cumpio and Domequil, who were arrested in Tacloban City in February 2020, were acquitted of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives, but were convicted of terrorism financing by a local court in Tacloban on Jan. 22. Each was sentenced to a prison term of 12 to 18 years.
But on April 13, the appellate court upheld its 2025 resolution denying the government’s bid to forfeit P557,360 allegedly seized from Cumpio and Domequil during their arrest. It ruled that a proper terrorist designation or proscription is necessary before the government can seize assets under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
“With a pending motion for reconsideration challenging the conviction, the CA has a clear opportunity to rectify a lower court’s judgment predicated on evidence it has already found wanting,” said Fides Lim, spokesperson for Kapatid, which advocates for the rights of political prisoners.
“To do otherwise would undermine the very due process and consistency that justice requires,” she added in a statement.
‘Fraught legal process’
Cumpio and Domequil were arrested with three other activists in Tacloban City on Feb. 7, 2020, and charged with illegal possession of firearms and terrorism financing.
The charge of terrorism financing stemmed from police allegations that Cumpio and Domequil traveled to Catbalogan City, Samar, on March 29, 2019, to deliver cash and ammunition to members of the New People’s Army (NPA), which was designated as a terrorist group by the government.
At the time, Cumpio was an executive director of the news outlet Eastern Vista while Domequil was working with the church-based organization Rural Missionaries of the Philippines.
The local court rejected the defense of the pair, who submitted screenshots of their activities to prove that they were elsewhere on the day they supposedly gave P100,000 and boxes of ammunition to an NPA rebel identified as “Butil.” —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
