Frenchiemae Cumpio

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CPJ, partners urge Philippine president to end Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s prolonged detention as trial enters key stage

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday joined four press freedom organizations in urging Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and its Department of Justice to end the detention of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been behind bars for more than five years. The groups said in a joint statement, led by CPJ, that the 26-year-old…

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr., shown here at a campaign rally in Quezon City, Philippines, on April 13, 2022, has not displayed overt antagonism toward the media since winning the presidency in May 2022. However, local journalists say he has not yet taken substantive actions to undo the damage wrought to press freedom under the Duterte administration. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

In Marcos Jr.’s Philippines, milder tone belies harsh media reality

At a waterfront courthouse in Tacloban City, a long-time hotbed of communist insurgency in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas island region, heavily armed guards were escorting jailed journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio to trial. The picturesque setting belied the harsh reality of the April 17 hearing. Cumpio could be put behind bars for life if found guilty…

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CPJ calls on President-elect Marcos to protect press freedom in the Philippines

CPJ writes to President-elect Marcos about the current state of press freedom in the Philippines and requests that he take immediate action to reverse his predecessor’s abusive acts.

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‘Red-tagging’ of journalists looms over Philippine elections

As Philippine presidential candidates wind up their campaigns before the May 9 election, journalists in the country are demanding that whoever succeeds President Rodrigo Duterte put an end to “red tagging” –  the labeling of individuals as rebels or supporters of the communist insurgency – that helped put their colleague Frenchiemae Cumpio behind bars.  Cumpio, the 23-year-old executive director…

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CPJ, 73 media and rights groups urge Asian heads of state to release jailed journalists

Given that a staggering number of imprisoned journalists are held in jails across the Asian continent, CPJ and other groups call on leaders of these countries to release them at this time of grave public health concern.

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Security forces are seen in San Juan, the Philippines, on March 2, 2020. Police recently arrested journalist Frenchiemae Cumpio on firearms charges. (Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)

Philippine journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio detained since February on firearms charges

Philippine journalist Frenchiemae Cumpio has been held in detention since February 7, 2020, on “illegal firearms possession” charges, according to news reports and a statement by the National Union of the Journalists of the Philippines, a local press freedom group.

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