Supporters of journalist Frrenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil expressed dismay after Regional Trial Court Branch 45 in Tacloban City rejected their petition for bail in the “terrorism financing” case. According to the Free Tacloban 5 Network, this will further prolong the already six-year unjust detention of Cumpio and Domequil on fabricated charges.

Cumpio and Domequil were found guilty of “terrorism financing” on January 22. They face 12 to 18 years in prison and a fine of ₱500,000 each in connection with the case. On the same day, they were acquitted in a separate case of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

The two were arrested, along with three others, on February 7, 2020 and have been collectively known as the Tacloban 5. Cumpio is the head of the independent media outlet Eastern Vista and a contributor to Altermidya, while Domequil is Rural Missionaries of the Philippines staff.

Judge Georgina Uy Perez of RTC Branch 45, who also handed down the guilty verdict in the “terrorism financing” case, decided that there were “heavy” grounds to deny the motion for bail. She asserted that Cumpio and Domequil could “continue providing support to terrorist organizations if released on bail.”

According to the Free Tacloban 5 Network, the lawyers of Cumpio and Domequil clearly laid out the nature of the two’s profession and advocacy. As a journalist and lay worker, their work is “centered on lawful advocacy, community education, and reporting on human rights violations in the region.”

The group added that these activities are legitimate and constitutionally protected. Beyond this, prosecution witnesses also failed to present any direct, substantiated, and incontrovertible link between the two and any form of “terrorism financing.” “It is therefore deeply appalling that a conviction was rendered in the first place despite the nature of their work and the evidence presented,” the group said.

The supporters of the two said the guilty verdict is even more questionable in light of the Court of Appeals’ declaration that the state had no basis to seize the money taken from Cumpio in October 2025. The court said that connecting the funds to the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army has no legal or factual basis.

“The network strongly condemns the prolonged detention of Frenchie and Mariel,” the Free Tacloban 5 Network said. It said the continued detention of the two, despite the evidence presented in court, the dismissal of other cases against them, the Court of Appeals decision, and their good record in prison, exposes a troubling pattern of attacks on activists, journalists, and those who serve communities. This is clearly “meant to stifle critical voices,” the group added.

Meanwhile, the counsels of Cumpio and Domequil from the National Union of People’s Lawyers are preparing to file a motion for reconsideration of the guilty verdict in the “terrorism financing” case. They are also preparing to appeal the unjust conviction before the Court of Appeals.

According to the Free Tacloban 5 Network, they are determined to exhaust all legal remedies until Cumpio and Domequil win justice.