Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s office announced on Monday it was “very happy” that Maria Ressa had won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. “It’s a victory for a Filipina and we’re very happy for that,” Harry Roque, Duterte’s spokesperson, said during a press briefing with reporters. Maria Ressa, a tireless advocate for free press in the Philippines and the co-founder of the Rappler news site, won the Nobel Prize on October 8. Spokesperson says ‘press freedom is alive’Delivering the presidential palaces’ first comments on Ressa’s victory on Monday, Roque said the award proved that press freedom was intact in the country. “Press freedom is alive and the proof is the Nobel Prize award to Maria Ressa,” Roque said.

Source: Indian Express October 11, 2021 17:15 UTC