Jailed journalist Frenchie Cumpio wins Annenberg Justice for Women award

CEBU, Philippines – Tacloban-based journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been sentenced to 12 to 18 years in prison in a controversial terrorism financing case, is the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) 2026 recipient of the Wallis Annenberg Justice for Women Journalists Award.

The announcement was made on Thursday, May 14, as the IWMF recognized women journalists for their work during the 37th annual Courage in Journalism Awards, an event that honors women who report under dangerous conditions to expose the truth.

“Each year, the Wallis Annenberg Justice for Women Journalists Award brings attention to women journalists who are detained, jailed or imprisoned. Many of these cases receive worldwide attention at the time of arrest but leave the public eye as new cases emerge,” the IWMF stated on its website.

Cumpio joins Minneapolis-based and Emmy Award-winning journalist Georgia Fort, Iranian human rights journalists and sister Elnaz and Elaheh Mohammadi, and Myanmar-based independent journalist Nay Min Ni who are also recipients of the Courage in Journalism Award.

“From Minneapolis to Mandalay, Tehran to Tacloban, this year’s Courage Award winners reveal a shared truth: Press freedom is eroding not at the margins, but at the center, and women are on the frontlines,” read a statement of the 2026 IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards selection committee.

Frenchie’s message

In a written statement, Cumpio expressed her gratitude for the award but shared that she would give a “greater salute to everyone who continued to believe in truth and justice.”

“Growing up in one of the poorest regions in my country, taking part in unveiling the truth, exposing the abuses and giving the unheard a voice has rather been a necessity than a choice,” Cumpio said.

During her time as executive director of Eastern Vista and radio broadcaster at Aksyon Radyo Tacloban, Cumpio covered human rights abuses in Eastern Visayas, the struggles of the survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Typhoon Haiyan) and peasant farmers in the region.

Cumpio stressed the importance of press freedom amid the injustices faced by journalists and citizens put in deeper poverty due to wars and political rivalries.

“To be a woman journalist today bears a greater weight of working amidst the macho-fascist environment, not to mention the state,” the journalist said.

Recognized for courage

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) congratulated Cumpio for the historic win.

For the NUPL, the IWMF award was “another rejection of the state’s manufactured narrative.” 

“No credible international institution, independent observer, or honest appraisal of the circumstances surrounding her arrest and prolonged detention has lent any legitimacy to the charge that she is a criminal,” the NUPL said.

On January 22, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 45 of Tacloban City, Leyte, convicted activists Marielle Domequil and Cumpio in their terrorism financing case but acquitted them in their illegal possession of firearms and explosives case.

For Tacloban RTC Branch 45 Judge Georgina Perez, the testimonies of four alleged rebel returnees who claimed they saw Cumpio and Domequil turn over P10,000 in cash to supposedly fund the New People’s Army (NPA) was sufficient evidence. No money trail was presented.

Cumpio and Domequil have been in prison since 2020. The Tacloban court has ordered their transfer from the Tacloban City Jail to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City. 

“Whatever the local court may have ruled, the world recognizes in Frenchie Mae a journalist imprisoned for doing her job; and in that recognition lies the most damning vindication of her work and cause as a people’s journalist,” the NUPL said.

The NUJP said the IWMF’s award affirmed the importance of community journalism, and reiterated calls for the release of Cumpio and Domequil, alongside human rights defender Alexander Abinguna who was arrested on the same night on February 7, 2020.

“To our lawyers, our families, the [NUPL] and above all, members of the media who fearlessly covered and exposed our stories despite the risks, to [the NUJP], Altermidya, [Reporters Without Borders], and to all journalists, thank you for your courage and bravery,” Cumpio said. – Rappler.com