By Carlito Pablo
Canada has joined calls for the protection of press freedom in the Philippines after a court sentenced a journalist to imprisonment of 12 years to 18 years.
“We join our colleagues at the Media Freedom Coalition Embassy Network in the Philippines in urging stakeholders to ensure that journalists can carry out their work without fear of persecution or undue interference,” the Canadian embassy in Manila posted on the social media platform X on January 22, 2026.
On that day, community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Mae Cumpio and her former roommate Marielle Domequil were found guilty of financing terrorism in a case that has sparked outrage among rights groups and media advocates.
The Canadian embassy in Manila is part of the Media Freedom Coalition Embassy Network in the Philippines.
In a joint statement that referenced the plight of Cumpio, the network on January 22, 2026 cited its “commitment to the protection of press freedom and the rights of journalists worldwide”.
“We urge all stakeholders to ensure that journalists can carry out their work without fear of persecution or undue interference. Freedom of expression and the ability to report independently are essential pillars of democracy and must be safeguarded.”
In addition to Canada, the statement was signed by the embassies of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Cumpio was arrested along with four human rights activists in a series of police raids in Tacloban City in the province of Leyte on February 7, 2020.
“Cumpio, executive director of the Eastern Vista news website and a radio news anchor at Aksyon Radyo Tacloban DYVL 819, frequently covers alleged police and military abuses…,” the New York-based group related.
Bi Lih Yi is the Asia program coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“This decision sets a precedent as Frenchie Mae is the first journalist in the world to be convicted of financing terrorism,” Yi said in a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Yi described the court’s decision as “appalling and absurd”, and “nothing short of injustice”.
“I think the decision sends a chilling effect not only among journalists in the Philippines but also worldwide,” she added.
The Media Freedom Coalition Embassy Network in the Philippines, of which Canada is a member, is part of the broader Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), a partnership of several countries across the world.
Established in July 2019, the coalition states on its website that it works “proactively to advocate for media freedom”.
“Media freedom is an integral element of democracy, global security and prosperity. People need free and independent media to provide them with accurate information and informed analysis if governments and other powerful actors are to be held to account. The free exchange of views and information allows communities to identify and pursue emerging opportunities and to recognise problems that must be addressed,” the MFC explains.
Moreover, “Governments, which are responsible for protecting human rights, are too often the source of threats to media freedom. The unique added value of the Media Freedom Coalition is its access to governments, and its ability to intervene at the highest level with the governments of countries where media freedom is at risk, while showing solidarity with countries that work to improve media freedom.”
The coalition’s current executive group is composed of Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the National Union of the Philippines (NUJP), condemned Cumpio’s “draconian conviction on baseless charges”.
“The conviction of Frenchie Mae Cumpio on baseless charges after almost six years in detention is a highly alarming violation of human rights, a failure of the justice system to protect and uphold press freedom, and a clear effort to silence critical, independent journalism,” the IFJ stated.
For its part, the NUJP said, “[Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s] 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 fear of reprisal and retribution.”
The Philippines is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
In convicting Cumpio and Domequil, the judge cited evidence that the two sent P100,000 in cash, two boxes of .45-caliber ammunition, and 12 pieces of shotgun ammunition to communist rebels.
The Police Regional Office-8 (PRO-8), which filed the cases, welcomed the verdict.
“PRO-8 underscores the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law reflected in this outcome,” the regional command said in a statement included in the Philippine Daily Inquirer report.
The lawyers of Cumpio and Domequil plan to appeal the case.
ReyFort Media 
Leave a comment