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The refusal of jail authorities in Tacloban to allow press freedom advocates a proper visit with detained journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio is both unacceptable and deeply alarming.
According to members of the delegation, the jail authorities, denying access even to a waiting room, asked for various documents including a clearance from the Office of the President, a “mission order,” certification of employment from embassies, and even permission from the court, which the court itself said was not necessary for a visit.
This incident sends a chilling message about the state of human rights and media freedom in the Philippines.
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.
Twenty-six-year-old Cumpio has been in prison for five years now, and the reported violations of her medical and legal rights compound this injustice. Such treatment undermines due process and exposes a callous disregard for press freedom. Jail authorities must be held accountable for these violations, and the government must act to end Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s unjust detention.
Cumpio, a young community journalist in Eastern Visayas, was arrested in 2020 on what press freedom advocates widely denounce as trumped-up charges of terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms—allegations suspected to have been fabricated to silence her reporting. Her prolonged pre-trial detention and the irregularities in the legal proceedings reflect a broader pattern of harassment and legal persecution faced by journalists in the Philippines, particularly those reporting on human rights, marginalized communities, and local abuses of power. Ranked 116th in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index, the Philippines continues to be a dangerous and difficult environment for journalists, where press freedom remains under threat and accountability is elusive.
