Sen. Richard Gordon. (FILE) Screen grab / Senate PRIB
The Philippine government should set aside political differences and celebrate the feat of journalist Maria Ressa as the first Filipino ever to win the Nobel peace prize, Sen. Richard Gordon said on Tuesday.
Gordon, chair of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, urged the government to reconsider its decision opposing Ressa’s request to allow her to personally receive her Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10.
“To many of us, the prestigious award conferred to Ressa, a historic first for the Philippines, sets the momentum in the right direction of our individual and collective efforts to allow a culture of truth-telling to prevail in our country,” he said.
Gordon added his voice to the mounting clamor for the Philippine government to allow Ressa, Rappler cofounder and CEO, to fly to Norway to personally receive her Nobel Peace Prize.
Ressa had been seeking permission from the courts to travel due to her pending libel and tax evasion charges.
She is set to receive the Nobel Peace Prize Award, along with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, for their efforts to “safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”
Solicitor General Jose Calida opposed Ressa’s request with the Court of Appeals (CA) to leave the country purportedly for being a “flight risk.”
“Her recurring criticisms of the Philippine legal processes in the international community reveal her lack of respect for the judicial system, which consequently makes her a flight risk,” Calida, along with 12 assistant solicitors general and state solicitors, said in his opposition filed on Nov. 8.
Ressa, who has been allowed to fly to the United States and has held a series of lectures there, asked the CA to amend her itinerary, as she intends to fly directly to Oslo for the Nobel ceremonies.
Calida said that Ressa personally receiving her Nobel Prize was not a basis for urgent and necessary travel.
According to Gordon, Ressa’s award, which is the first for the Philippines and for a Filipino journalist, should be a great occasion to celebrate despite political differences.
“To many of us, the prestigious award conferred to Ressa, a historic first for the Philippines, sets the momentum in the right direction of our individual and collective efforts to allow a culture of truth-telling to prevail in our country,” he said.
Instead of vitriol, the government should see Ressa as an individual who has brought pride and honor to the country by pushing for a culture of truth-telling to prevail in the country, Gordon said. INQ