TACLOBAN CITY — Community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil are set to elevate their conviction for financing terrorism to the Court of Appeals.

Lawyers of the two activists filed a joint notice of appeal on Friday, notifying the Tacloban Regional Trial Court Branch 45 that they are appealing the RTC decision issued on January 14, which convicted them of terrorism financing.

This came after RTC Judge Georgina Uy-Perez dismissed the appeal of Cumpio and Domequil for lack of merit last March 25. Perez also denied the motion for reconsideration on the bail plea of the two accused.

In the joint notice of appeal, the accused said the RTC decision was not “in accord with law, prevailing jurisprudence, and evidence.”

Earlier, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) expressed disappointment over the RTC decision dismissing the appeal of Cumpio and Domequil.

The NUJP said the conviction for terrorism financing “bodes ill for journalists, humanitarian workers, and activists” in the country.

“Judge Uy-Perez’s blind faith in the testimonies of self-declared rebel surrenderers is unacceptable and unjust. It sets a very dangerous precedent—that even without documentary evidence, the court can punish those wrongfully accused by individuals acting in cahoots with state security forces,” the NUJP said.