The first Filipino to win a Nobel Peace Prize is a woman

Journalist, author, CEO of Rappler, and now a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Ressa sure has a whole list to be recognized for. She was nominated by Norwegian lawmaker and labor leader Jonas Gahr Støre earlier in February.

The 58-year-old along with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov received the accolade from the Norwegian Nobel Committee (NNC) “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

NNC Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said in a news conference that the two winners carried out a courageous fight in their respective countries, the Philippines and Russia. She said, ‘At the same time, they are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.’

BREAKING NEWS:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.#NobelPrize #NobelPeacePrize pic.twitter.com/KHeGG9YOTT

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 8, 2021

Støre described Ressa as a “symbol and a representative of thousands of journalists around the world.” He also shared how she has been harassed, persecuted, and arrested several times because of covering corruption issues, particularly people linked to President Rodrigo Duterte.

According to Rappler, Ressa’s win is the first Nobel Prize for a Filipino. But former US vice president Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change received a similar award in 2007. The team of climate scientists included former Ateneo de Manila University president Father Jett Villarin.

The Nobel Peace Prize will be bestowed on December 10. It’s the Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel’s death anniversary, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.

Banner: EPA-EFE/Alecs Ongcal

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Source: we the pvblic