Nobel laureate Maria Ressa. Composite graphic: globalfemaleleaders.com / ray-psp.com / philnews.ph e've been complaining for years about the fact that no Filipino has ever won a Nobel prize. Well, now we finally have our very own Nobel laureate. Maria Ressa, a Filipino-American journalist, who for years has been hounded and persecuted by the Duterte administration for what many say are nothing but trumped-up charges, was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace prize together with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. Ressa, and her online publication Rappler, became a target of the Duterte administration soon after she began highlighting the abuses of Duterte's drug war campaign. Duterte, who openly flaunted his close ties with Beijing, used a similar heavy-handed approach towards the press. Ressa, a Filipino-American, and a former CNN investigative journalist happened to be the ideal target for Duterte and his Chinese benefactors. What better way to both stick it to the Americans, and remove a thorn on the side of the autocratic-leaning, president. In January 2019, Ressa was charged with libel under the country's Cybercrime Prevention Act. According to Wikipedia, "Ressa's arrest was criticized by the international community." Many believe her arrest was politically motivated. Wikipedia notes that many continue to speak out in Ressa's defense. Former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, held that what had happened to Ressa "must be condemned by all democratic nations." Sheila Coronel, who once headed the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), and is now a director at the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University, characterized Ressa's conviction as representative of "how democracy dies in the 21st century." Even the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines called Ressa's ordeal "a shameless act of persecution by a bully government." The Nobel Peace Prize has suddenly placed enormous clout and prestige on Ressa's shoulders—likely tilting the scales permanently in her favor. And with the 2022 elections looming, "the prize" could not have come at a worse time for the Duterte camp. Ressa's award shines a light on Duterte's discredited showcase project, his war on drugs—a war Duterte once boasted he would win in three months. On behalf of like-minded Filipinos everywhere, we congratulate Maria Ressa, and all those like her, for holding the powerful accountable—an endeavor fraught with danger and life-threatening consequences in the Philippines. We likewise tip our hat to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, in awarding Maria Ressa the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, you have shown a light on fragile state of Philippine democracy. Published 10/12/2021