TACLOBAN CITY — Lawyers for jailed Tacloban-based journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Mariel Domequil have asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to reconsider its earlier decision denying their petition for bail.

Lawyers from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers filed the motion for reconsideration before the CA’s 18th Division in Cebu City on 7 August after the court dismissed their bail petition on 17 June due to a defect in the notarial certificate attached to the petitioners’ Verification and Certification Against Forum Shopping.

The bail petition was filed while a separate appeal seeking to reverse a Tacloban Regional Trial Court Branch 45 ruling convicting Cumpio and Domequil of financing terrorism remains pending.

In denying the bail petition, the CA said the notarial certificate did not contain the notary public’s commission number and the city or province where the notary was commissioned, in violation of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure.

The petitioners’ lawyers argued that the defect was procedural and should not warrant dismissal of the petition.

They said Cumpio and Domequil personally appeared before the notary public, signed the document and swore to its contents. Their lawyers also submitted documents confirming that the notary had a valid commission when the document was notarized.

The lawyers argued that the continued detention of Cumpio and Domequil constituted a “grave injustice,” saying the denial of bail was based on generalized and speculative grounds that were not sufficiently tied to their individual circumstances.

Tacloban RTC Branch 45 Presiding Judge Georgina Uy-Perez convicted Cumpio and Domequil of financing terrorism on 22 January 2026 and sentenced them to 12 to 18 years in prison.

In February, the same court denied their petition for bail, citing the conviction as increasing the risk of flight and possible continued support for terrorist organizations.