PRESS RELEASEAsia-Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP)
APCHRP CONDEMNS POLITICAL CONVICTION OF TACLOBAN ACTIVISTS, DEMANDS IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Asia-Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) strongly condemns the unjust and politically motivated conviction of Marielle Domequil, a human rights advocate and church worker, and Frenchie Mae Cumpio, a community journalist, on trumped up charges of terror financing. APCHRP asserts that the charges against them are manufactured, baseless, and emblematic of the Philippine state’s systematic campaign of repression against activists, journalists, and human rights defenders.
While both Cumpio and Domequil were acquitted of the charge of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, they were nevertheless convicted on so-called “terrorism financing.” The conviction hinges on unsubstantiated allegations that on March 29, 2019, in Catbalogan, Samar, they allegedly provided funds to the New People’s Army (NPA) – claims that were never proven. While police did confiscate a cash sum ₱557,360 when they raided the residence Cumpio and Domequil were staying in last February 2020, those funds were intended for the “Stand with Samar-Leyte” community fundraising effort and for Frenchie’s independent community radio station. Desperate to pin down the two activists as rebel fighters with the NPA, state authorities used the draconian Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act to prosecute Cumpio and Domequil of trumped up charges. It is also important to note that last December, the Court of Appeals (CA) dismissed the civil forfeiture case involving the confiscated cash, describing the case as “hasty labeling of human rights advocates as terrorists and the speedy confiscation of their funds and property in the name of national security.” The conviction of Cumpio and Domequil of terrorism financing charges only continues the weaponization of our laws to repress activists and other peaceful dissenters against the government.
“This ruling exposes how anti-terror laws are being twisted into tools of persecution,” said Sr. Patricia Fox, spokesperson of APCHRP. “When courts convict human rights workers and journalists based on invented narratives and recycled accusations, justice is no longer blind – it has become an accomplice to repression.”
APCHRP also condemns the continued detention of the “Tacloban 5”, who are approaching six years in detention, as a glaring example of the weaponization of the law. First under Rodrigo Duterte, and now under Pres. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., we are witnessing how repressive legislation is being used to silence the press, criminalize humanitarian work, and intimidate those who defend human rights. This case is not an isolated miscarriage of justice but part of a wider, systematic campaign of criminalization orchestrated by the state, led by the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
APCHRP is demanding the immediate reversal of the conviction and the unconditional release of Frenchie Mae Cumpio, Marielle Domequil, and Alexander “Chakoy” Abinguna. The coalition also calls for full accountability of all officials and institutions responsible for this political persecution, including NTF-ELCAC and Pres. Marcos Jr., under whose administration these abuses continue unabated.
“The Anti-Terrorism Act and related laws have no place in a society that claims to uphold democracy and human rights,” Sr. Fox said. “These laws must be repealed, not rebranded, because they exist to suppress dissent and protect impunity.”
APCHRP urges the international community, human rights mechanisms, churches, journalists, and civil society organizations to remain vigilant, to expose and oppose these violations, and to stand firmly against the culture of impunity entrenched under the current regime.
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