FPU and partners condemn conviction of Frenchie Mae Cumpio based on flawed evidence
Free Press Unlimited and the #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition of international press freedom organisations condemns the conviction of Filipino journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been sentenced to 12 to 18 years in prison in a terrorism financing case that is unsupported by credible evidence and relies on highly contested testimony. We consider the verdict a serious miscarriage of justice and a dangerous abuse of counterterrorism legislation to silence independent journalism in the Philippines.
The ruling was delivered on 22 January 2026 by a court in Tacloban. While Cumpio was acquitted in a separate case concerning the alleged illegal possession of firearms and explosives, the court upheld the terrorism financing charge despite the prosecution’s failure to present convincing proof of wrongdoing. Her legal team has announced it will appeal the decision.
Frenchie Mae Cumpio, 26, has been imprisoned since February 2020, following a police raid during which she was arrested alongside four human rights defenders. From the outset, her case has been marred by serious irregularities, including allegations that evidence was fabricated and that key prosecution witnesses provided inconsistent and unreliable testimony.
A case emblematic of press freedom under attack
Over nearly six years of detention, Cumpio has become a symbol of press freedom under attack. In September 2025, 250 journalists from around the world called on Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to intervene and secure her release, warning that her prosecution sends a chilling message to critical reporters nationwide.
International bodies have repeatedly raised alarm. Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, has criticised the unjustifiably long pretrial detention and visited Cumpio in prison in January 2024. In May 2025, the One Free Press Coalition included her case in its list of the world’s 10 Most Urgent press freedom cases.
This is a devastating day for journalism. We are extremely appalled and outraged by today’s verdict, which has no place in a democratic society. It sends a dangerous message: what has been done to Frenchie Mae Cumpio can be done to anyone who challenges power or speaks uncomfortable truths.
– Akriti Saraswat, Free Press Unlimited
Demand for immediate release
On the day of the verdict, Free Press Unlimited joined international and local partners in issuing a joint statement condemning the conviction and calling on President Marcos Jr. to immediately release Frenchie Mae Cumpio and put an end to this injustice.
The #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition, consisting of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and AlterMidya in Manila, along with global press freedom organisations Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Free Press Unlimited (FPU), will continue to advocate for Cumpio’s freedom and to oppose the use of baseless criminal charges and flawed judicial proceedings to intimidate journalists in the Philippines and beyond.
