Frenchie Mae Cumpio and Marielle Domequil, both part of the Tacloban 5, are scheduled for a trial tomorrow and November 25 after four years of unlawful detention and court stalling.

Alexander Philip Abinguna, another member of the Tacloban 5, has yet to receive a trial schedule himself.

The five individuals collectively referred to as the Tacloban 5 were arrested on the night of February 2020 for trumped-up illegal possession of firearms and terrorism financing charges made against the activists.

Mira Legion and Marissa Cabaljao, activists and two other members of Tacloban 5, were released on bail earlier. 

Frenchie Mae Cumpio is a community journalist for Eastern Vista, located in Tacloban City. She was arrested with Marielle Domequil, an activist and a member of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, a church-based organization working for the village poor. Alexander Philip Abinguna is also an organizer for the National Council of Karapatan, a human rights protection group.

Tacloban 5’s case was assigned to the Leyte Regional Trial Court Branch 45 in Tacloban City, where Cumpio and Domequil are scheduled to undergo their defense trial. In the case of Tacloban 5, their trial schedule led to a four-year delay due to court stalling.

One reason for the delay was the court's unsparing strictness to their witness, Iris Domequil, sister of Marielle Domequil, told the Collegian. But to her, the prosecutors were given unfair leniency as the court would often bend to the absence of a witness from the prosecuting side and would reschedule the hearing.

Another was the piling up of criminal charges. The initial charge against Cumpio and Domequil was for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. But then, they were also charged with terrorist financing by the Anti-Money Laundering Council. 

Republic Act 10168 or The Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 defines the criminal charge as the funding of terrorists through financial services or other related services, by any means. 

Cumpio and Domequil were charged after a cash stash was found in the Eastern Vista office, Cumpio’s headquarters in Tacloban City. But the cash was supposedly for radio fees and a campaign for displaced farmers, and not for funding the New People’s Army (NPA), Iris clarified.

Charges against the three multiplied further with a murder charge placed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. This was presented against Cumpio and Abinguna, in an attempt to frame them for the death of two military personnel in Samar. 

While both were presented with arrest warrants, it was Abinguna who was charged because of a typographical error made in Cumpio’s name.

Tacloban 5’s case is just one of many illegal arrest cases against activists and journalists. 

Some individuals have also been charged with terrorism financing for seemingly inexplicable reasons. One such case is that of Marcylyn Pilala and Alaiza Lemita, who were accused of selling grocery items and providing rice and adobo to members of the NPA, despite their counter-affidavits denying their connections to the rebel group. 

Illegal arrest cases also continue to increase with the recent arrest of Desiree Jaranilla Patuñ-og, a former UP student regent. 

The court projects to wrap up the case of the three by December, and the withdrawal of charges will depend on the outcome of their defense hearings. The upcoming arraignment will determine the follow-up of another hearing or the dismissal of the case altogether. 

In either case, organizations remain on watch. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, for one, has called for the dismissal of the charges against Cumpio, Domequil, and Abinguna, and the end of weaponization of the Anti-Terrorism Act against rights defenders, members of civil societies, and journalists.

“Palayain ang Tacloban 5, ibasura ang mga gawa-gawang kaso against sa kanila, ngayon na … Yung terror law rin, i-junk siya kasi parang naging trial din yung kaso nila,” Iris Domequil said. 

Along with the hearing for Cumpio, a mobilization will be held tomorrow at the Supreme Court, along the gate on Taft Avenue, at 8:00 a.m. ●

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this article erroneously reported that Cumpio, Domequil and Abinguna will face pre-trial procedures. The three will already face trial this month in the case of Cumpio and Domequil. International observers were also let into the court in contrast to a previous report, but the hearing did not start because of the absence of the prosecution. We apologize for this oversight.