Tacloban journalist wins 2026 Wallis Annenberg award

TACLOBAN CITY — A jailed Tacloban-based community journalist has been named one of the five winners of the 2026 Wallis Annenberg Justice for Women Journalists Award presented by the International Women’s Media Foundation.

Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who was selected from nominations spanning 53 nationalities, received the award given annually to a journalist who is unjustly detained, jailed or imprisoned.

The 2026 awardees also include Iranian print reporters Elaheh and Elnaz Mohammadi, U.S. broadcast journalist Georgia Fort and Myanmar-based digital journalist Nay Min Ni, who uses a pseudonym.

The IWMF said this year’s winners reflect the shrinking state of press freedom worldwide, driven by legal pressure, gender-based intimidation and digital harassment.

“Across multiple continents, each winner is operating in a different political system, yet each faces the same core dynamic: The frontlines have moved, and journalism itself is now the target,” the organization said.

Cumpio has been detained since 2020 following a raid on an alleged communist safehouse in Tacloban City. She was later convicted of terrorism financing by a regional trial court.

“Cumpio’s work — and her continued imprisonment — highlights the use of legal mechanisms, including anti-terror laws and red-tagging, to silence independent media in the Philippines,” the IWMF said.

Cumpio was previously nominated for the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize and shortlisted in 2025 for the Reporters Without Borders Courage Prize.

From her prison cell, Cumpio welcomed the recognition.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award, but I’d like to give a greater salute to everyone who continues to believe in truth and justice,” she said.

“Growing up in one of the poorest regions in my country, taking part in unveiling the truth and exposing abuse has rather been a necessity than a choice. Journalism in a country ruled by only one percent of its population means providing the masses and marginalized sectors with a voice. This award is a recognition of the truth and the strength of the people, united.”