Cumpio, activist appeal RTC ruling denying them bail
Community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and church worker Marielle Domequil have petitioned the Court of Appeals (CA) to allow them to post bail after a Tacloban City Regional Trial Court (RTC) denied their earlier motion for such a relief.
Cumpio and Domequil asked the appellate court to reverse the Feb. 13 and March 25 orders issued by Judge Georgina Perez of the Tacloban RTC Branch 45 while they appeal their conviction for financing terrorism.
They told the court that Perez committed “grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction” in denying their motion for bail.
They also argued the judge tossed out their motion despite their “clear showing that their circumstances warrant the grant of bail post-conviction.”
“Under applicable rules and jurisprudence, while bail pending appeal remains discretionary, such discretion must be exercised on the basis of a reasoned, individualized assessment,” the pair said in their 25-page petition filed on May 22.
Perez found Cumpio and Domequil guilty of financing terrorism but acquitted them of illegal possession of firearms on Jan. 22.
Their lawyers filed a petition for bail five days later, arguing that their conviction was not yet final and they remain entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence while their appeal is ongoing.
Not ‘flight risks’
In denying their motion, Perez ruled that the “mere absence of the bail-negating circumstances does not automatically entitle an accused to bail after conviction.”
In March, she affirmed the conviction of Cumpio and Domequil for financing terrorism after finding no compelling reason to overturn her earlier decision.
In their petition, Cumpio and Domequil maintained that they are not flight risks, citing their participation in court proceedings, their community ties and certifications from jail authorities attesting to their good conduct during detention.
They described themselves as “advocates for poor and marginalized communities—a journalist and a development worker—who, by virtue of their work, are not inclined to commit another crime, especially during the pendency of their appeal.”
They also argued that the offense for which they were convicted by the lower court is not “enough ground” for the CA to deny their post-conviction bail.
“Adopting such a position would render bail pending appeal unavailable for entire categories of offenses based solely on their characterization or label, regardless of whether the convictions are based on substantial errors of law and/or fact,” they told the appellate court.
Cumpio and Domequil were among five activists arrested by authorities in simultaneous raids conducted on Feb. 7, 2020 in Tacloban City. They are collectively called “Tacloban 5.”
