Frenchie Mae Cumpio case: Who is Tacloban City RTC Judge Georgina Perez?

Tacloban City Regional Trial Court Branch 45 Judge Georgina Perez convicted 26-year-old Frenchie Mae Cumpio of terrorism financing, but acquitted her in the illegal possession of firearms and explosives case.

Lay worker Marielle Domequil, 28, also received the same sentence. The two have been in jail for nearly six years, following their arrest on February 7, 2020, at the office of alternative news outlet Eastern Vista in Tacloban City, together with rights advocates Alexander Philip Abinguna, Mira Legion, and Marissa Cabaljao. They are collectively referred to as the “Tacloban 5.”

Local and international groups condemned Cumpio’s conviction, saying it sends a “chilling message” to media, activists, and even ordinary people in the Philippines.

Then-president Rodrigo Duterte appointed Perez Tacloban City RTC judge in 2017. She was then promoted as vice executive judge in 2020 and later on as executive judge in 2022.  

In 2023, Perez flew to Australia as part of a Philippine judiciary delegation led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo to participate in a legal counter-terrorism technical assistance study visit.

Judge Perez was recognized on November 30, 2024, as the “most outstanding regional trial court judge” by Eastern Visayas Media Without Borders. The group describes itself as “a convergence of media practitioners in Eastern Visayas” with a goal “to provide the public with timely and relevant news and information around the region and the country as well.”

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Leyte Chapter also recognized Perez as “Outstanding Member of the Judiciary” in 2025.

This is not the first time Perez has handed down a conviction in a terrorism financing case. On July 30, 2024, she ruled that Lucila Mabanan Gabane was “guilty beyond reasonable doubt of attempting to commit the crime of financing terrorism.”

Gabane was sentenced to an indeterminate prison term ranging from four months to over three years.

Perez’s husband, Roy Percival Perez, is a councilor in the municipality of Abuyog, Leyte. – Rappler.com