The Nobel is the third international press freedom recognition for Ressa, following the Golden Pen of Freedom Award in 2018 and the Unesco/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, awarded on May 3 this year, Press Freedom Day. Turning to the headline topic, the paramount issue is not taming the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic or reviving the lockdown-strangled economy though both are most urgent to save lives and livelihoods. Nor is the big issue fighting corruption, crime and narcotics, though these ills also threaten lives and souls, and worsen pandemic and economic woes. The most crucial issue for Filipinos, which would probably never cross most voters' minds, is how the country positions itself in the escalating geopolitical and military rivalry between America and China. To ensure this, the United States must retain its deterrent capacity and bolster the capabilities and resolve of other regional states."

Source: Manila Times October 09, 2021 14:26 UTC