‘A well-orchestrated lie’: Detained Philippine journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio tells UN
Geneva, June 27, 2025 – A handwritten letter by journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been detained in the Philippines for more than five years without a conviction, was read out at the United Nations by U.N. special envoy Irene Khan, who called the 26-year-old’s prolonged detention “a travesty of justice”.
It was the first time that Cumpio’s words have been heard internationally outside her prison cell in Tacloban City in the eastern Philippines. Cumpio was arrested in February 2020 and later charged over illegal possession of firearms and terrorism financing. She faces up to 40 years in prison if found guilty.
An international #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition which includes AlterMidya, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Free Press Unlimited, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and Reporters Without Borders was denied a joint prison visit to Cumpio on June 16, with authorities citing documentary requirements. However, she was able to pass a letter addressed to the U.N. special envoy.
Cumpio’s letter was hand-carried to Khan in Geneva from the Philippines by CPJ’s Asia-Pacific director Beh Lih Yi. Ronalyn Olea, secretary-general of the NUJP, was also present when the letter was handed over.
“How do we even combat a well-orchestrated lie? A story that’s so absurd that if this was a class debate, you wouldn’t even try to rebut,” Cumpio said in her letter, which Khan read out on Tuesday during a U.N.’s Human Rights Council side event about freedom of expression in the Philippines, co-hosted by CPJ.
Khan, the special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, called for Cumpio’s release at the U.N. on Tuesday and in her report to the UNHRC last week. In 2024, the UN expert made an official visit to Cumpio and her co-accused, Marielle Domequil, a church lay worker, in prison.
“She has been languishing in prison for five years, waiting for a trial for five years – that to me is a travesty of justice,” Khan said on Tuesday. “We need to stand with the Frenchies of this world.”
Below is the extract from Cumpio’s letter read out by Khan:
“A lot has happened over a year (since Khan met Cumpio). Marielle and I have already testified in court. I was presented three times. I am pleased to tell you that our lawyers have really exerted all of their efforts for our testimony.
Despite that, I have to admit that nothing can really prepare you for your own trial.
At first, it felt like I didn’t really have anything to say. How do we even combat a well-orchestrated lie? A story that’s so absurd that if this was a class debate, you wouldn’t even try to rebut.
But after my testimony, I realised I still had a lot to say. That this more than five years of detention is robbing us of so many things – time, family, dreams, plans, future.
People call us brave for holding on, although I would have to admit I sometimes feel otherwise.
The truth is that what happened to us still happens to several others. The fact that they are capable of charging us through mere lies. The fear that we still won’t be safe even when we’re out of this facility.
I am never an ‘in between’ person. I am usually sure where I stand. But today, now that we’re almost near the end, I feel uncertain. And uncertainty bothers you in bed.
Nonetheless, we hold on.
Your visit last year has made a huge impact on how people perceive our case.
Thank you for amplifying our woes. Nothing is braver than fighting for those who are uncertain – the economically challenged, those who continue to suffer from discrimination, or people like us who are locked behind bars.”
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Spokespeople are available for interviews in English/Filipino:
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (Manila/Geneva): Jonathan De Santos; Ronalyn Olea secretariat@nujp.org;
AlterMidya (People’s Alternative Media Network, Manila): Rhea Padilla, rhea@altermidya.net
Committee to Protect Journalists (Frankfurt/New York): Beh Lih Yi, lbeh@cpj.org; press@cpj.org
Reporters Without Borders (Taipei/Paris): Aleksandra Bielakowska, abielakowska@rsf.org
Free Press Unlimited (Amsterdam): Jos Bartman bartman@freepressunlimited.org ###
