There is a saying in Tagalog: "Hampas sa kalabaw, latay sa kabayo (Whip on the carabao, whip marks on the horse)."

I recall this native adage as a large section of Philippine media seems unable to register an apt appraisal of the winning by Maria Ressa of the Nobel Peace Prize. In normal circumstances, a Filipino gaining a respected international plaudit almost always results in instantaneous outburst of national ecstasy. Such was the joyous reception by Filipinos of the first time ever a Filipino won as a boxing world champion, Pancho Villa, or for that matter the first time ever a Filipina triumphed as Miss Universe, Gloria Diaz.

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