A media safety coalition expressed alarm at the refusal of jail authorities to allow international press organizations to visit a Filipino journalist in jail.
The Movement for Media Safety Philippines (MMSP) said it is deeply alarmed that Frenchie Mae Cumpio could not be visited by press freedom advocates at the Tacloban City Jail earlier this week.
Delegates of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) flew to Tacloban last Monday but were refused entry due to “missing documentary requirements.”
Delegation members said the jail authorities denied access even to a waiting room, arbitrarily demanded various documents including a clearance from the Office of the President, a “mission order,” certification of employment from embassies, and even an unnecessary permission from the court.
“This incident sends a chilling message about the state of human rights and media freedom in the Philippines,” MMSP said in a statement Friday.
“Jail authorities must be held accountable for these violations, and the government must act to end Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s unjust detention,” the group added.
The group also complained that Cumpio’s medical and legal rights are being violated while in detention.
“Such treatment undermines due process and exposes a callous disregard for press freedom,” MMSP said.
Arrested in February 2020 with four fellow activists after complaining of red-tagging and surveillance by state agents, Cumpio was anchor of a regular show at a local radio station in Tacloban.
She is contesting illegal possession of firearms and explosives as well as terrorism financing charges, both unbailable, at a special “terrorism court.”
Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) Asia-Pacific Manager Aleksandra Bielakowska led the delegation which included representatives of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), and AlterMidya.
Cumpio’s outfit, Eastern Vista, is a member of Altermidya. She is also a member of the Philippine Chapter of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television.
In her final report on her official visit to the Philippines in 2024, special rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan highlighted to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s session last Tuesday Cumpio’s prolonged imprisonment.
“Promptly release Ms. Cumpio, Ms. (Marielle) Domequil and Mr. (Alexander) Abinguna and, considering the circumstances of their arrests and the time that they have already spent in detention, dismiss the charges brought against them as manifestly unfounded,” Khan’s report’s final item reads.
Despite government efforts to discourage her from visiting Cumpio, Khan insisted on personally interviewing the journalist in 2024. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)