Czech Ambassador Visits Detained Journalist and Rights Worker in the Philippines
Key Takeaways
- •Czech Ambassador Karel Hejč visited detained journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and human rights worker Marielle Domequil on Tuesday at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, inquiring about their well-being at their new location in the facility.
- •The two women were arrested on Feb. 7, 2020, during a government raid on their Tacloban City offices alongside three other human rights activists.
- •All five were convicted of disputed terrorism financing charges and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 to 18 years, earning them the label 'Tacloban 5' among press freedom groups.
- •Cumpio and Domequil remain imprisoned after their post-conviction bail appeals were denied in February 2026.
- •The Czech Republic, a member of the intergovernmental Media Freedom Coalition formed in 2019, said it continues to follow the case and call for due process and the protection of press freedoms.
MANILA — Czech Ambassador to Philippines Karel Hejč visited detained community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and human rights worker Marielle Domequil on Tuesday at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), the country's largest penal facility for female offenders, located in Mandaluyong City.
The ambassador enquired about the well-being of the two women at their new location in the facility, according to the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila.
Both women were arrested on Feb. 7, 2020 — more than six years before the ambassador's visit — during a government raid on their offices in Tacloban City, alongside three other human rights activists. All five were convicted of disputed terrorism financing charges and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 to 18 years. Alternative media and press freedom groups have labeled them the “Tacloban 5.”
Ms. Cumpio and Ms. Domequil remain imprisoned after their post-conviction bail appeals were denied in February 2026.
“As a member of the international Media Freedom Coalition, the Czech Republic closely follows the case of the so-called Tacloban 5 and continues to call for their right to due process and protection of press freedoms in general,” the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.
Hejč's visit to the CIW was part of activities related to this advocacy, the embassy added. The Media Freedom Coalition is an intergovernmental coalition formed in 2019 to coordinate international action in defense of press freedom.
— Francessca S. Abalos, BusinessWorld
Source: BusinessWorld
