“Here’s what I think about Ressa.”
“Here’s what I think about Ressa.”
Maria Ressa is a classic case of Filipino idolatry and misplaced values. any do not even bother to examine who she is, or know about her citizenship. Our people, especially those less knowledgeable of what is going, have their praises for the award given her. The Nobel Peace Prize is an honor allegedly to promote peace.
Our people could not even remember what peace has she brokered in our land. Rappler, the online news organization she helped establish, has generated more animosity among our people. The dimension has intensified for the fact that it has injected racism to heat up the anti-China campaign promoted by her American brokers. Pierre Omidyar, the financier of Rappler donating $1.5 million, and has been identified as a CIA operative who sponsored the orange revolution in Ukraine that toppled the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych.
Omidyar apparently issued an order for Rappler to create outrage against Duterte by portraying the President as a deranged killer. Rappler also claimed that police and vigilante death squads have killed more than 7,000 people. But this mouthpiece of the CIA only came out with a number of persons extrajudicially executed without naming, or citing the date and the place where they were allegedly executed. Rappler just came out with a summary to purposely mislead the EU, Human Rights Watch, CNN, Time, BBC — the world.
The Nobel Peace Prize award now appears to have been usurped by the US. Most of the awardees are Americans, many of whom dragged their country to war like President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The rest were mostly personalities that serve the US propaganda like Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus, Al Gore, Liu Xiaobo, Laymah Ghowee, etc.
Ressa as a paid hack in the service of the US imperialist is something exceptional. She has the ability to convince the money bug. Plucked as a CNN reporter in Indonesia, she got her assignment by reporting on Islamic terrorism that often crossed to Mindanao. She later transferred to ABS-CBN where she became the news editor.
Ressa was deeply entrenched in US propaganda with some suspecting they are connected with the US intelligence services. As a journalist, she did well to involve herself in controversy. Her being employed by ABS-CBN served her purpose with an eye of preempting the rise of President Duterte. The President no less admitted that he was swindled by ABS-CBN for his campaign ads.
During the Committee investigation review of ABS-CBN’s bid for renewal of franchise, it was discovered that the station violated its franchise, did not pay the right amount of tax, and was discovered not to own the property upon which its station was situated until Congress was forced not to renew its franchise.
After serving ABS-CBN, Ressa was entrusted to operate her media outfit. Her media carried the name Rappler Holdings funded by the American media tycoon Omidyar. As operator of Rappler, she runs the company with the single objective of disparaging Duterte. She could sense the President would be friendly to China after US intelligence operatives were involved in a spate of bombing in Davao.
Ressa dared violate our laws, unmindful about her citizenship. Many believed Ressa is sporting dual citizenship, courtesy of some opposition senators who acted as lawyers to many US companies. This means that Rappler would be operating without a franchise. Obviously, she took the leniency to slander and castigate the government without let up.
The giving of the Nobel Peace Prize is intended to put pressure on the Duterte administration to drop the conviction for libel filed against their client. In a statement issued by Caoilfhionn Gallagher and Amal Clooney: “Independent investigative journalism in the Philippines is an act of bravery. At least 19 journalists have been killed since President Duterte assumed office in 2016. Our courageous client Maria Ressa has been convicted on baseless charges, faces decades behind bars, and receive daily threats and rape simply for doing her job x x x , the Philippines must drop all cases against Ms. Ressa. And the world must hold the Philippines to account if it fails to do so.”
As recipient, many Filipinos see her case differently, which is to project her as a crusader for freedom and democracy.
First, the case against her was filed by Wilfredo Keng in 2012. She was found guilty, and the case is on appeal.
Second, the Manila Regional Trial Court convicted Ressa. Rappler alleged that an “influential Chinese businessman” is being eyed as a suspect in the ambush-slay of a former Manila councilor. On the other hand, Keng said he was never investigated or charged for any criminal activity. The businessman just asked Ressa to delete the “offensive Twitter post,” but Ressa refused to do so.
To quote what this columnist wrote on July 13, 1019: “The case filed against Maria Ressa, x x x is far from her claim that the government is suppressing the freedom of expression and of the press. She accuses the Duterte administration of weaponizing the issue which clearly is defamatory and intended to sow hatred toward the government.”
The fact that the US-operated mass media continues to operate belies that Ressa is being harassed. Section 11 (1) and (2). Article XVI of the Constitution, states that ownership of mass media shall be limited to Filipino citizens. This is pursuant to an order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 11, 2018. Interestingly, while Ressa was awarded as one of the persons of the year in 2018 by TIME Magazine and stated in her brief biodata that her nationality and citizenship states “American, Philippine,” clearly indicating she is not a Filipino.
By accepting foreign donation from Omidyar Network, she violated the constitution that mass media should be owned by Filipino citizens. Obviously, the purpose is to treat the business as an exercise of our sovereign right as an independent state. Second, the donation of $1.5 million is an admission that Rappler is a foreign-funded organization. The violation is serious because the purpose is to slander and influence the policy of our government. Third, her winning of the Nobel Peace Prize is to put pressure on the government to dismiss the case against her.
Fourth, Filipinos are asking what sort of peace has she done to be worthy of our recognition. On the contrary, Rappler continues to slander and accuse the Duterte government of venalities and corruption to erode the trust of our people. In fact, we can say of Ressa and her foreign benefactor, are acting as agitators.
Many are also asking who this man named Alfred Bernhard Nobel is? As far as they know, he invented dynamite in 1833. His invention has caused millions of lives to be destroyed. The dynamite took a heavy toll during the two world wars described in our contemporary history as a scourge that plagued mankind. Dynamite has been widely used, with nitroglycerine as compound to manufacture various forms of explosives for aerial bombing, artillery shells of various caliber, torpedoes and even as detonator for nuclear bombs.
Our Western mentors would rather want to remember an alien trouble maker instead of remembering Hidylin Diaz who won for this country the first Olympic Gold Medal in weightlifting for the 55-kilogram category in Tokyo. It seems our mind has been reformatted to hatred and destruction instead of us cultivating for our people what they can do for the country.
We truly have a misplaced value that betrays our supposedly Christian upbringing.
rpkapunan@gmail.com
