The government of President Rodrigo Duterte demanded that Philippine journalist Maria Ressa be prohibited from travelling to Oslo, Norway to receive the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December. Duterte’s Solicitor General Jose Calida petitioned the Court of Appeals on 25 November to reject Ms. Ressa’s request to travel, saying she is “considered a flight risk” as seen in her “recurring criticisms of the Philippine legal processes.”

Mr. Calida added that she “does not show compelling reason for the court to permit her travel.”

The Court of Appeals, however, granted Ms. Ressa’s request to attend the awarding ceremonies in person, directing her to return to the Philippines on 13 December. The Philippine tax appeals court subsequently granted a similar request to travel, noting that Duterte’s lawyers “did not file any comment or opposition” to this request.

The Court of Appeals had earlier barred Ms. Ressa from receiving the 2020 International Press Freedom Award from the US National Press Club late last year. A few days after the announcement of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize however, the appeals court granted her request to travel to the US for a month-long series of lectures at the Harvard University and to visit her ailing mother in Florida during the Thanksgiving holidays.

Ms. Ressa currently faces at least eight criminal charges in various Philippine courts, including cyber libel and tax evasion. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on 8 October the awarding of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov and Ms. Ressa, highlighting the Philippines’ notorious reputation as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

Most recently, on 8 December, an unidentified gunman shot news reporter Jesus Malabanan inside his home in Calbayog City in the central Philippines island of Samar. He suffered a gunshot to his head, killing him instantly. Malabanan was a correspondent for national news outlets including the Manila Standard, Manila Times and ABS-CBN, and had contributed articles for the Reuter international news agency. He had been reporting about the Duterte government’s ‘war on drugs’.