Journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil were convicted of terrorism financing by the Tacloban Regional Trial Court today, January 22. Photo Courtesy: College Editors Guild of the Philippines
Tacloban City, Philippines – COMMUNITY journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio was convicted on Thursday of financing terrorism by a local court here.
The Regional Trial Court Branch 45, presided over by Judge Georgina Perez, also acquitted Cumpio and her co-accused, Mariel Domequil, for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The court decision came more than five years after Cumpio and Domequil’s arrest and a day before Cumpio’s 27th birthday, leaving her family shocked and distraught, according to people close to them who were present during the promulgation of the judgment.
Defense lawyer Norberto Palomino said they would appeal the conviction within the 15-day reglementary period and would also seek bail for Cumpio’s temporary liberty while the case was on appeal.
Following the promulgation, Cumpio and Domequil were immediately returned to the Tacloban City Jail, where they had been detained since their arrest on February 7, 2020.
Cumpio, a former executive director of the community media outfit Eastern Vista, is among the group known as the “Tacloban 5,” who were arrested in a joint police and military operation that authorities claimed uncovered firearms and explosives in a supposed safehouse.
