After nearly six years in pre-trial detention, journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil were found guilty of financing terrorism by the Tacloban Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Thursday.

Cumpio, 26, and Domequil, both members of the human rights advocacy group known as the Tacloban 5, were convicted by RTC Branch 45.

Judge Georgina Uy Perez ruled that the prosecution proved their guilt beyond reasonable doubt, while acquitting them of separate charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Under the court’s ruling, Cumpio and Domequil face a minimum of 12 years and a maximum of 18 years in prison, without the possibility of parole. The offense is bailable at the court’s discretion.

The National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) confirmed that despite being cleared of firearms-related charges, the two remain liable for lengthy prison terms. According to their defense counsel, Atty. Norberto Robel Jr., a motion for reconsideration will be filed, and an application for bail is forthcoming.

Cumpio was arrested in February 2020 when military personnel raided her boarding house in the middle of the night. Authorities alleged they found a hand grenade, a firearm, and a communist flag in her bedroom.

She was part of a group of five human rights activists detained on February 7, 2020.

The conviction has drawn sharp criticism from both local and international press freedom organizations.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) described the charges as “trumped up” and based on “a questionable arrest and testimony from dubious witnesses.”

“Her case has been emblematic of the challenged state of press freedom, and more broadly of freedom of speech and expression, in the Philippines and her conviction does not bode well for the media’s ability to report on the issues that Frenchie did without reprisal or retribution,” NUJP added.

Cumpio is the only imprisoned journalist in the Philippines.