A journalist holds a photo of detained community broadcaster Frenchie Mae Cumpio who has been in prison since 2020 over alleged terrorism charges. Photo from Altermidya. Used with permission.

This article by Raymund B. Villanueva was originally published on Kodao, an independent news site in the Philippines. An edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.

A media safety coalition expressed alarm at the refusal of jail authorities to allow international press organizations to visit a Filipino journalist in jail.

The Movement for Media Safety Philippines (MMSP) said it is deeply alarmed that Frenchie Mae Cumpio could not be visited by press freedom advocates at the Tacloban City Jail.

Delegates of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) flew to Tacloban, a city in Leyte, Philippines, on June 16 but were refused entry due to “missing documentary requirements.”

Delegation members said the jail authorities denied access even to a waiting room, arbitrarily demanded various documents, including a clearance from the Office of the President, a “mission order,” certification of employment from embassies, and even an unnecessary permission from the court. MMSP decried the refusal to allow the media delegation to visit Cumpio.

This incident sends a chilling message about the state of human rights and media freedom in the Philippines.

Jail authorities must be held accountable for these violations, and the government must act to end Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s unjust detention.

Her prolonged pre-trial detention and the irregularities in the legal proceedings reflect a broader pattern of harassment and legal persecution faced by journalists in the Philippines, particularly those reporting on human rights, marginalized communities, and local abuses of power.

The group also complained that Cumpio’s medical and legal rights are being violated while in detention.

“Such treatment undermines due process and exposes a callous disregard for press freedom,” MMSP said.

Arrested in February 2020 with four fellow activists after complaining of red-tagging and surveillance by state agents, Cumpio was the anchor of a regular show at a local radio station in Tacloban.

She is contesting illegal possession of firearms and explosives as well as terrorism financing charges, both of which mean she can not access bail, at a special “terrorism court.”

Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) Asia-Pacific manager Aleksandra Bielakowska led the delegation, which included representatives from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), and AlterMidya.

#FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio: CPJ with partners were in Tacloban City in eastern #Philippines on Monday to call on the authorities to release the journalist who has been detained for more than 5 years https://t.co/ofaZW7iY7C

— CPJ Asia (@CPJAsia) June 16, 2025

Akriti Saraswat, safety and gender expert of Free Press Unlimited, highlighted the urgency of releasing Cumpio:

We're looking at a 26-year-old woman stripped of her basic rights — due legal process, community, healthcare, privacy, and information — simply for speaking truth to power. She’s been hit from all directions. You only attack journalists when truth is your enemy, and that's what happened to Frenchie.

Cumpio’s outfit, Eastern Vista, is a member of Altermidya. She is also a member of the Philippine Chapter of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television.

In her final report on her official visit to the Philippines in 2024, special rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan highlighted to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s session in June Cumpio’s prolonged imprisonment.

Promptly release Ms. Cumpio, Ms. (Marielle) Domequil and Mr. (Alexander) Abinguna and, considering the circumstances of their arrests and the time that they have already spent in detention, dismiss the charges brought against them as manifestly unfounded.

Despite government efforts to discourage her from visiting Cumpio, Khan insisted on personally interviewing the journalist in 2024.