By Raymund B. Villanueva
IT IS DETAINED journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s 27th birthday today. We initially planned to celebrate it with her outside of prison, her first after six years in jail.
But while Frenchie and co-accused Marielle Domequil of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) were exonerated by the Tacloban Regional Trial Court on the charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives yesterday, they were deemed guilty of financing terrorism.
Needless to say, our plans for a birthday celebration were doused by Judge Georgina Uy-Perez’s befuddling decision to hold the two young women culpable for a crime that should have been thrown out the window the moment she decided there were no compelling evidence the two were New People’s Army (NPA) members or supporters.
Not a few observers pointed out that the judge gave more credence to prosecution witness Alma Gabin’s testimony, ignoring the fact the professional snitch of the military did not present any other proof to support her allegations against Frenchie and Marielle. It is even more baffling that the judge reached such a conclusion when the Court of Appeals very recently said the money seized by the military from Marielle and Frenchie “was not tied to terrorism.” If the appellate court said the two had no links to terrorism, how can a RTC judge say the two activists were financing terrorism?
In a press conference after the promulgation, defense counsel Ruben Palomino pointed out that there were five cases against Frenchie and Marielle, each slapped with separate charges of illegal possession of firearms and illegal possession of explosives. And then there was the terrorism financing charge that was filed some considerable time after the initial charges were filed as no more than an “afterthought.” Palomino said they remain unconvinced by the reasons cited for the conviction as it is apparent to them there was no solid factual basis for such a conclusion.
A Frenchie and Marielle supporter put it bluntly: “Pwede ka na palang ma-convict batay lang sa kwento-kwento.”
A brief introduction on the prosecution’s so-called star witness is warranted. Gabin was herself a former youth activist who was reported – first, ironically, by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines—Eastern Visayas — to be a victim of state abduction, along with husband Alvin Dagohoy in Tolosa, Leyte on June 11, 2020. Probably under duress and to preserve themselves from being disappeared by their abductors, they later said they are “rebel returnees.” The couple went on to become government witnesses against those charged for terrorism financing, such as the RMP and the Leyte Center for Development. Alma gained more notoriety as Eastern Visayas Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict poster girl in many anti-activism rallies, red-tagging forums in schools, even in an ambush dialogue with a visiting United Nations Special Rapporteur. Alma is not beyond lying and spinning more mendacity, such as claiming without proof she briefly saw Marielle and Frenchie in a guerrilla camp some years back.
It was on such obvious falsehood that Uy-Perez based her decision to make Frenchie and Marielle, two young women with very promising lives, suffer up to 18 years behind bars. It was on the questionable character of one Alma Gabin that the judge tried to pass off a blueprint for the conviction of many other development workers and organizations accused of terrorism financing by the military and its parasitic adjunct, the NTF-ELCAC.
Government agencies tripped over themselves in praising the conviction of Marielle and Frenchie. The Presidential Task Force on Media Security described yesterday’s event as “reflective of the court’s independent and evidence-based appreciation” of the case. In a boastful statement, the Department of Justice outdid itself in not just praising its prosecutors but in red-tagging Frenchie and Marielle as CPP-NPA members even when the Tacloban and Lao-Ang RTCs as well as the CA making no such determination.
The judiciary and the Philippine government earned no fans with yesterday’s travesty. While representatives of the diplomatic community understandably could not publicly voice their aghast, international media organizations present at the promulgation (such as Reporters Without Borders, Committee for the Protection of Journalists, and Free Press Unlimited) were justifiably angry at the development. CPJ said it is appalled by the decision, adding President Ferdinand Marcos’ assurances of respect of human rights are “nothing but empty promises.” RSF agrees, saying the conviction of Frenchie and Marielle is “clearly a political case” as well as “outrageous (and) orchestrated to silence reporters” who speak the truth.
Frenchie’s mother Lala meanwhile said they did not expect Uy-Perez’s judgment after the government’s forfeiture case spectacularly failed before a higher court. “Baka na-pressure lang din po. Sana i-grant niya ang sunod na hakbang at pagbigyan,” she said, referring to the defense lawyers’ announcement of filing a motion for reconsideration and petition for bail.
Marielle’s sibling Kyle said her hopes for her sister’s imminent freedom are unyielding. “I feel no sadness at all. I kind of expected the judge’s decision,” she said. Kyle added: “We still won (against the four other cases). It is just that the other part is delayed.” #
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[DISCLOSURE] The author is Frenchie Mae’s community radio broadcasting mentor who served as one of her character witnesses in her illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges. He is chairperson of Altermidya that counts Cumpio and Eastern Vista as members.
