We unequivocally stand with detained journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and her colleagues who remain imprisoned in Tacloban City.
Today, more than four years since their offices were swept in a series of raids by state forces, Frenchie Mae and the rest of “Tacloban 5” will face the court for the first time to defend themselves.
Frenchie Mae’s unjust detention, for nearly five years as of writing, was a product of provision of search warrants, an art perfected by the acolytes of Rodrigo Duterte’s regime.
She and her colleagues were slapped with baseless accusations. Frenchie Mae herself faces charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, to which state prosecutors added a heftier allegation: financing terrorism.
The Duterte regime codified state repression into “anti-terror” edicts: Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act, and the dreaded Anti-Terror Law.
We have long condemned these laws as threats to free expression and a free press. Frenchie Mae’s case infuriatingly underscores this dark prophecy. Under President Marcos Jr.’s administration, this travesty of justice continues.
In no uncertain terms, we declare: Free speech is not a crime. Journalism is not a crime. Defending these constitutional rights is not a crime.
The courts and the Marcos administration should cease perpetuating the dark legacies of the previous regime in the realm of suppressing dissent and a critical brand of journalism.
We demand an end to the government’s practice of weaponizing the law against perceived enemies of the state. We call for the repeal of these “anti-terror” laws which, in truth, are mere tools in the government’s longstanding “war” against the country’s independent media.
If nothing else, we hold to one truth: Journalism will thrive even under conditions cloaked with the dark shadows of autocratic laws and state terror. Next to truth-telling, journalists also follow a long tradition of resistance against repression and fascism.
We will soldier on.
#FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio
#FreeTacloban5
#DefendPressFreedom
