The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) welcomes the Court of Appeals’ (CA) decision to nullify the forfeiture case filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) against community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and church worker Mariel Domequil. The ruling confirms that the alleged “terrorism-linked funds” amounting to ₱557,360 had no basis in fact or law, as the government failed to prove any connection to terrorism financing or illegal activity.
The CA itself noted that there was “a dearth of reason to believe that the subject bank accounts were related to terrorism financing”, directly rebuking the AMLC’s attempt to tag the two as supporters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). The CA’s decision exposes how financial regulations and counter-terrorism measures have been weaponized to target journalists and human rights defenders instead of genuine threats.
But despite this partial victory, Cumpio and Domequil still face criminal charges of illegal possession of firearms. The Tacloban Regional Trial Court has set 22 January 2026 for the promulgation of the case.
Meanwhile, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has publicly appealed the CA’s decision, insisting on the supposed link of the two to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) despite the absence of evidence.
The CA’s nullification of the forfeiture case is not just a legal correction, but a political statement: it exposes the systematic abuse of state power to stifle independent journalism and civic work. CPDG reiterates its position that under a repressive government that protects vested interests over people’s welfare, anti-terrorism laws and related laws; and regulatory mechanisms will only be used for political repression, and weaken rather than strengthen and enable civic spaces and CSO development effectiveness.
Cumpio was the executive director of Eastern Vista, an independent media outfit based in Tacloban, and was arrested alongside Domequil in February 2020 during a series of coordinated raids on activists and journalists. Their arrests followed years of red-tagging and surveillance of human rights defenders in the region—part of a wider trend documented by civil society and UN experts.
The CA’s nullification of the forfeiture case is therefore not just a legal correction, but a political statement: it exposes the systematic abuse of state power to stifle independent journalism and civic work. CPDG reiterates its position that under a repressive government that protects vested interests over people’s welfare, anti-terrorism laws and related laws; and regulatory mechanisms will only be used for political repression, and weaken rather than strengthen and enable civic spaces and CSO development effectiveness.
CPDG stands in firm solidarity with Frenchie Mae, Mariel, and all journalists and development workers who continue to face harassment, vilification, and grave violations of human rights including the threat to their lives for doing their work. We call on the judiciary to dismiss all remaining fabricated cases, and on the Commission on Human Rights and Congress to investigate the NTF-ELCAC and AMLC’s misuse of their mandates against CSOs and development workers. We urge media organizations, people’s movements, and international partners to amplify cases like these and demand accountability for the state’s weaponization of anti-terror and financial laws. The struggle for justice and truth demands collective action. We call on all communities, people’s organizations, and advocates of democracy and human rights to resist the criminalization of civic work, defend those who serve the people, and assert our collective right to speak, organize, and act in pursuit of genuine development.#
See also:
https://davaotoday.com/headline/detained-journalist-cumpio-secures-two-legal-victories/