Frenchie Mae Cumpio | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 January 1999 |
| Occupation | journalist |
| Known for | political prisoner |
Frenchie Mae Cumpio (born January 23, 1999) is a Filipino journalist and political prisoner. She was arrested in 2020 on terrorism related offences and for possessing a firearm. In 2025 the charges against her were beginning to be withdrawn. She is the focus of international attention as an accused journalist. Some believe she has been arrested for political motives.
Cumpio was born in 1999. [1]
Cumpio ran a website called Eastern Vista news and she was a news presenter at Aksyon Radyo Tacloban DYVL 819. [2]
On 7 February 2020 she was arrested with four others in Tacloban City in her country's Leyte province. She was charged with terrorism related offences and possessing a firearm, but others allege that this was planted by the authorities. [2] The others were activists Alexander Abinguna, Marissa Cabaljao, Mira Legion and Marielle Domequil who were called "the Tacloban 5". [3] They were voices of dissent at the time of President Rodrigo Duterte. [4]
According to Reporters Without Borders, in September 2020 and August 2021 a judge authorised arrest warrants against her despite the fact that she was already imprisoned. Her name was mispelt and the charges were made to her. The warrants were for her alleged involvement in a double murder of two soldiers in October 2019. At that time she was living seven hours away. She was said to have been identified by name by one of the alleged survivors of the attack. [5] The existence of these charges were not known until August 2025 when they were revealed by an "exclusive RSF investigation. [5]
Irene Khan the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression visited her in jail on 28 January 2024. She said that the terrorism based charges should be set aside. [3]
In 2025 she was still imprisoned and her release was demanded by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. [1] Her release was also named by Reporters Without Borders as one of that years' RWP priority campaigns, together with Sandra Muhoza of Burundi, Sevinj Vagifgizi of Azerbaijan, and Phạm Đoan Trang of Vietnam. [6] In October a Phillipine court found no evidence to support the allegation that she was in contact with the Phillipine Communist Party. They reversed a decision to freeze her bank account and an order to pay a fine for allegedly financing terrorists. [7] On November 7th another court dismissed the charges of murder against her because the available evidence did not match her identity. [8]
In December 2022, the Manila Regional Trial Court ruled to forfeit ₱557,360 that Cumpio and Domequil said belonged to the Stand with Samar-Leyte campaign for farmers. In October 2025, the Court of Appeals reversed the forfeiture and reprimanded the Philippine Anti–Money Laundering Council for the "hasty labeling" of Cumpio and Domequil as terrorists. The Court of Appeals decision stated, [9]
The Court cannot countenance the hasty labeling of human rights advocates as terrorists and the speedy confiscation of their funds and property in the name of national security. Measures to counter terrorism must not be done without due process, and at the expense of individuals, groups, and civil society organizations that are engaged in the promotion and defense of human rights.... To permit the forfeiture of property and funds without strict observance of the guidelines… would erode the public’s trust in the state’s capacity to manage threats to national security and address the causes of terrorism.
Cumpio was nominated for the 2025 Reporters Without Borders Prize, Courage Prize category. The prize honors media workers who show "courage in the practice, defense or promotion of journalism in a hostile environment and despite threats to their freedom or safety." [10]