Lawyers of jailed journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and development worker Marielle Domequil filed for a review of the denial of their petition for bail with the Court of Appeals (CA) on Tuesday.
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) filed a petition for certiorari with the CA in Cebu City questioning Tacloban Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 45 Georgina Perez-Uy’s decision to deny their bail petition last March 25.
The lawyers’ group said Perez-Uy acted “with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction and that there is no appeal, or any plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law.”
While Perez-Uy absolved both Cumpio and Domequil of four charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, she found the two guilty of terrorism financing and refused their petition for bail even if their conviction qualifies them for temporary liberty at the court’s discretion.
In their petition, NUPL said the judge ignored that the fact that the search warrant used in Cumpio and Domequil’s arrest did not mention of any of their possible involvement in money laundering activities or any illegal financial activities.
“The money is not considered as contraband in plain view. There was no proof that it was the proceeds of a crime or that it was being used or intended to be used in the commission of a crime,” NUPL said. The human rights lawyers added the cash was not included in the Receipt of Property Seized/Inventory and in the Compliance/Return of Search Warrant made to the court that issued the search warrant.
During their arrest in the wee hours of February 7, 2020, the police and military seized P557,360 from the activists they maintained were legally-sourced funds for their Stand With Samar humanitarian project for Typhoon Yolanda victims.
In October 2025, CA’s Third Division reversed a Manila RTC’s December 2022 decision, finding no valid proof linking the money to terrorism. The CA stated that individuals cannot be hastily labeled as terrorists and have their assets confiscated without due process.
NUPL said the right to bail is inherent in the presumption of innocence principle pending final conviction by a higher court. It added that the judge’s rulings were tainted by errors of law and rests on mere speculation, rather than what has been established through the pleadings and proceedings.
The group pointed out that both Cumpio and Domequil are not recidivists who deserve denial of their rights to bail. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
