National artist for literature F. Sionil Jose has been copping a lot of flak for his audacity in stating that Maria Ressa does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. He has been maligned by prominent personalities and “thought leaders” of the Opposition. Some of them actually have questionable provenances with regard to their prominence. These half-assed prominent personalities don’t even bother to distinguish in their criticism. Sionil Jose is a national artist for literature. If ever he would be awarded a Nobel, it would be for literature not for “peace”.
What exactly has Ressa done to advance the cause of peace? It’s not like the Philippines is a failed state such as Syria or Libya, both of which were the doing of the US pushing with regime-change during the Arab Spring. Ressa’s fans can only claim the “harassment” of Rappler by the government but Rappler remains open. They lump in the denial of a franchise for ABS-CBN without taking into account the fact that a franchise is a privilege, not a right. The sole basis for Ressa’s prize is her “standing up” to President Rodrigo Duterte — a narrative that is largely of her own making. I doubt that the President is bothered by Rappler and Ressa. The cases are pending in the courts. The last libel suit against Rappler and Ressa was settled. It didn’t come to a judgment. What stands is her previous conviction, which is under appeal. In short, she’s being given due process under the law.
What’s dangerous now is how low the quality of our public intellectuals are. If the defenders of Ressa aren’t capable of civil discourse then what’s the point? The fact that they mostly resort to argumentum ad hominem, as noted broadcast journalist Howie Severino did when he criticised Jose’s writing style without addressing the points he made, only proves that their intellectual capacity is lacking. But this is usually the case when your position is weak and indefensible. What’s more dangerous is there is no journalist worth his or her salt who would dare go against Ressa and Rappler. The facts behind Rappler’s funding by Pierre Omidyar are there for all to read. It is not a white paper but supported by facts because Rappler and Ressa did receive the monies. If Duterte really wanted to pin down Ressa, he would’ve been able to do so, one way or the other.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
What is more disturbing is the hypocrisy that accompanies the Ressa defense. She isn’t even a Filipino citizen to begin with. In fact, she is a foreign agent operating in the country and openly challenging the government. Condoning this act is treason. But never mind. What is important is the largesse flows to those in and around Maria — she who has been praised by Biden, Obama and Bono. Proof that, up to today, Filipinos are content to suffer the fools of the past; Aguinaldo, Paterno and Buencamino, who murdered the true patriots and sold us out to foreigners. We are such pathetic idiots if we will condone these acts of treason and not take a stand against it.
Cook wide reader political crackpot music afficionado old soul out-of-the box thinker aspiring writer tech geek gearhead
this ressa is irrelevant..i can assure you 90% of filipinos dont even know who this degenerate dyke is..or even care what the hell a nobel prize means.
if you dint know anything about 1896… stio spreading lies.
dont ***
stop spreading ***
Ressa was born in Manila in 1963. Ressa’s father died when she was one. Her mother then moved to the United States, leaving her daughter and her sister with their father’s family, and would visit her children frequently. Subsequently, her mother married an Italian-American man and returned to the Philippines. She took both her children to the United States when Ressa was ten years old.
The original poster says she is not even Filipino, but she IS Filipino.
Is she, though? I mean, in the real sense? Listen to her, watch her mannerisms, the nuances of her facial expressions and body language, and decide. Don’t go all legalese on us and use that as your basis.
She may be a Filipino by a piece of paper, but will never be a Filipino by heart! I think there is a big difference between the two.
I agree. When you leave the Philippines to live in another country, you lose a little more of your Filipino identity the longer you stay away. The only ones who don’t lose their Filipino identity, not by choice but by necessity, are the OFWs who have to return. This is why Ressa has no business meddling with Philippine Politics. She may be a Filipino by ethnicity, but she’s an American by rights.
When a Filipino leaves and becomes an expatriate in another country, the Philippines just becomes a test ground or a playground for their new ideologies of conservatism or liberalism, or whatever in-between, when they return.
Poetic justice is real. I’m waiting for this evil Ressa’s time to harvest what she sowed. The “Big Lie” propaganda they copied from Nazi’s WWII Campaigns will not work in modern times as the likes of Wikileaks organizations will sprout every now and then to let everyone know the truth.
I’ve listened to her, watched her mannerisms, the nuances of her facial expressions, her writing style, and she reminds me of many Filipinos in various parts of the Philippines and all over the world who have the gift of expression in the English language, some, like her, are respected by peers around the world, some, unlike her, are not.
The only take I get from Ressa’s mannerism is her brand of liberalism doesn’t get widespread attention in America because the demographics don’t fit her profile nor taste. So she takes her CRappler label and tried to earn a trademark with liberals in the Philippines, because they “talk the [same] talk,” and “walk the [same] walk.”
She speaks with the pained expression of someone who deliberately keeps a damocles sword up her bullshit ass..
Paterno and Buencamino – those surnames still hold much clout in Philippine society. That tells enough on how we as a nation treat our traitors.
How about Duterte, and the part where he sold the Philippines out to CHINA, hmm?
Search 50 richest filipinos..shocker the chinese have been here for centuries..yea thats right go on finish up your jolly kiddie meal thats made in china too bird brain
Occupy philippines
Cu Hwang Co
You might want to ask Trillanes about that!
Please explain how Aguinaldo “Sold the Filipinos out to foreigners”
A better question – why was El Presidente a worthwhile movie to make ??
Answer: Baron Geisler
The same ways the Yellow oligarchs sold to foreigners.