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Ressa on government praise over Nobel win: ‘Thanks, but no thanks’

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<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1797407" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE)</strong>—Rappler founder Maria Ressa on Tuesday said government should take responsibility for the cyberlibel complaint she faces, a day after the administration congratulated her for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.</p><p>“I suppose thank you and then what I didn’t appreciate is almost hand in hand it came with a hit,” Ressa said of the Malacañang statement congratulating her for her award.</p><p>“Hand in hand with that [praise] was this reminder, which is a lie... that the cyberlibel complaint is filed by an individual and what the government repeatedly refuses to say is that it takes a government to actually file a criminal case.</p><p>“So this is the government’s case, it’s the Department of Justice’s, it is their decision. So they should really own it. So thanks, but not thanks.”</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/11/21/world-is-watching-ph-says-nobel-peace-prize-winner-ressa">Maria Ressa says Nobel Peace Prize win shows &#x27;world is watching&#x27; Philippines</a></li></ul><p>Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov won the 2021 Nobel prize for braving the wrath of their respective governments to expose corruption and misrule</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa is escorted by police after posting bail in Pasig Regional Trial Court on March 29, 2019. Eloisa Lopez, Reuters/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/10/12/20211009-nobel-prize-peace-philippines.jpg"/><figcaption>Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa is escorted by police after posting bail in Pasig Regional Trial Court on March 29, 2019. <em>Eloisa Lopez, Reuters/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/11/21/palace-congratulates-maria-ressa-on-nobel-prize">Palace congratulates journalist Ressa on Nobel Prize</a></li></ul><p>Ressa has been fighting multiple legal challenges in courts related to Rappler’s dogged investigative reporting of President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s government, its bloody war on drugs, and its use of social media to target opponents.</p><p>“It is a victory for a Filipina and we are very happy for that,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told a regular news conference, responding to a question on what the award meant for the government. </p><p>“Of course it is true there are individuals who feel Maria Ressa still has to clear her name before the courts,” he said, in the first comment on Friday&#x27;s award from Duterte&#x27;s camp.</p><p>The firebrand leader has described Rappler, launched in 2012, as a “fake news outlet” and a tool of the US Central Intelligence Agency, which Ressa has dismissed as nonsense. </p><div><strong>NO CENSORSHIP?</strong></div><p>In the interview, Ressa also refuted Malacañang&#x27;s claim there was no censorship of media in the country.</p><p>&quot;Hindi mo na kailangan sabihin. Tingnan mo nalang ang mga nangyayari (You don&#x27;t have to say it. You just look around),&quot; she said. </p><p>&quot;Nasa&#x27;n kaya ang franchise ng (Where is the franchise of) ABS-CBN? The last time that happened the ABS-CBN lost its franchise was when a dictator declared a martial law and shut down the network.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/abs-cbn-franchise-house-rejection">DEATH OF A FRANCHISE</a></li></ul><p>It has been more than a year since 70 members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises, a panel dominated by administration allies, voted to reject ABS-CBN’s bid for a new franchise.</p><p>The network was first shut down in 1972 when dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial rule. Nearly 5 decades later, it was forced off the air under the Duterte administration.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/21/21/philippines-drops-2-notches-in-2021-world-press-freedom-index">Philippines drops 2 notches in 2021 World Press Freedom Index</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/06/21/duterte-press-freedom-predators-reporters-without-borders">Duterte among world&#x27;s &#x27;press freedom predators&#x27;: watchdog</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/04/21/nearly-half-of-pinoys-say-criticizing-duterte-admin-dangerous-sws">Nearly half of Pinoys say criticizing Duterte admin &#x27;dangerous&#x27;: SWS</a></li></ul><p>In the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, the Philippines slipped further, placing 138th out of 180 countries due to the rise of red-tagging and government attacks against local media.</p><p>As the 2022 elections near, which Ressa said is going to be &quot;a battle of lies,&quot; she said this is the best time to be a journalist.</p><p>&quot;What a journalist does is to speak, to ask questions, to analyze, to demand answers. It&#x27;s not for yourself, it’s really for the people so that we hold governments and the private sector accountable. Nasa Konstitusyon po &#x27;yan natin (It&#x27;s in our Constitution), and the power of journalist is the power of the people,&quot; she said. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nshDazc9dXE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><div><strong>— With a Reuters report</strong></div>

Ressa said government should take responsibility for the cyberlibel complaint she faces, a day after the Palace congratulated her for her Nobel win.