Courts dismissed four cases related to political prisoners known as the Tacloban 5 in recent weeks. These include two cases of murder and one case of attempted murder, and one civil forfeiture case. These are only some of the cases filed against them.

The Tacloban 5 includes the freelance journalist for alternative media Frenchie Mae Cumpio, Marielle “Maye” Domequil of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, Alexander Philip Abinguna, Mira Legion, and Marissa Cabaljao. They were arrested in a police illegal raid on February 7, 2020 at their office in Tacloban City. They were previously charged with illegal possession of firearms, and multiple criminal cases in the following years.

On November 6, the Laoang Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 21 in Northern Samar granted Cumpio’s lawyers’ Motion to Quash for the two murder cases and the attempted murder case in which state forces implicated her.

The court decided in the basis of a large discrepancy between Cumpio’s name and “Frenchie Cupio Armando” named in the cases, invalidating the legality of Cumpio’s arrest. Meanwhile, the court rejected the same motion filed by their fellow detainee Abinguna.

Laoang Office of the Provincial Prosecutor filed the murder and attempted murder cases against the three on July 29, 2020. The case implicated them in the alleged shooting on October 18, 2019, which killed two individuals.

Recently, the Court of Appeals published its decision dated October 29 reversing the Manila Regional Trial Court’s earlier ruling on the civil forfeiture case against Cumpio and Domequil. The two were previously labeled “terrorists” and the state claimed ₱557,360 seized from their office.

The Court of Appeals’ 27-page decision stated that there is no evidence proving that Cumpio and Domequil are terrorists or New People’s Army members. Thus, the state had no basis to seize their money. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) filed the case using the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (TFPSA) a year after Tacloban 5 were arrested. In December 2022, hearings for the civil forfeiture case were expedited.

Amid the progress in the multiple cases faced by the Tacloban 5, Free Tacloban 5 Network and Karapatan are calling to dismiss all cases against Cumpio, Domequil, and Abinguna. “These three human rights workers have been unjustly detained for far too long on baseless and politically motivated charges,” the network said.

“Frenchie Mae should be in the newsroom, not in jail. Marielle should be back serving communities, not facing invented cases. Alexander Philip should be in communities conducting fact-finding missions, not in jail,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said. She added that delaying their release only extends the injustice they have already suffered.