Philippine journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio denied bail, to remain in prison after 6 years

New York, February 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Philippine court’s decision to deny journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio bail, and calls on authorities to drop all remaining charges against her and immediately end the judicial harassment.

“Frenchie Mae Cumpio has been deprived of her freedom for more than six years. The latest ruling is deeply cruel and unjust,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi. “Philippine authorities are keeping Frenchie Mae Cumpio behind bars to stop her from continuing her community journalism and exposing human rights abuses. They must end this injustice and persecution once and for all.”

The 27-year-old has been imprisoned since her arrest in February 2020. The Tacloban Regional Trial Court in the eastern Philippines convicted her on the charge of financing terrorism last month, and sentenced her to between 12 and 18 years in prison. Cumpio was acquitted on another charge of illegal possession of firearms, a non-bailable offense under Philippine law.

Cumpio’s lawyers appealed the conviction soon after the January 22 verdict. They also filed an application for bail for Cumpio and her co-accused, which would have allowed them to be temporarily released pending an appeal.

The Tacloban court ruled there was “no strong or compelling reason” to grant Cumpio bail in a decision dated February 13 and made available on Monday.

Temporary freedom could increase the “risk of evasion” and the “potential for them to provide support — whether financial, logistical or operational — to terrorist organizations,” Judge Georgina Uy Perez wrote in the ruling, which was reviewed by CPJ. 

CPJ has been advocating for Cumpio’s release for years. Her prolonged imprisonment has been condemned by a United Nations expert as a travesty of justice.

CPJ and the #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition have consistently raised concerns about fabrication of evidence and allegations that authorities planted the weapons that led to her 2020 arrest. The coalition includes CPJ, Reporters Without Borders, Free Press Unlimited, AlterMidya and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

CPJ has nominated Cumpio for the 2026 UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, while more than 90 media groups around the world wrote to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier this month, urging him to right the wrong and free Cumpio.