“It looks like leverage”
Despite the gravity of the allegations and the status of the victims, the witness’ “immediate identification” of Frenchie never led to her arrest in the weeks or even months that followed. Whereas she was supposed to be closely monitored by the military for far less serious suspicions, she was never questioned in connection with this ambush, neither before nor after her February 2020 arrest. The circumstances are so improbable that it is difficult to believe such a case could even exist at the time.
Yet the case formally proceeded. On 7 September 2020 and 6 August 2021, arrest warrants for the journalist were issued by a judge for the new murder charges. Attempts to apprehend the journalist failed as not only was her name misspelled, but she had already been in detention for months due to the first case. “It looks like leverage as the ongoing case could be dismissed,” said an individual familiar with the case, who requested anonymity.
Even more troubling, RSF has learned in the course of its fact-finding mission in July that, at the request of the murdered soldiers’ families, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) had opened a parallel investigation into the double murder of the soldiers, alongside the judicial inquiry. The institution, whose mandate is to investigate human rights violations committed by state agents against civilians, found itself investigating a journalist who is already the target of unfounded charges brought by former rebels, dubious police and military methods, and severe procedural failures.
When questioned by RSF in Manila on this apparent deviation from its core mandate, the Commission assured us that its inquiry into Frenchie’s alleged participation in a double murder had since been closed “for lack of sufficient evidence.”
In 2025, the archipelago ranked 116th out of 180 in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.
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This article, “Filipino Journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio Now Accused of Double Murder,” is the second part of an exclusive RSF investigation into the case of Frenchie Mae Cumpio.
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