Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's office on Monday congratulated Filipino journalist Maria Ressa for bagging the Nobel Peace Prize.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque told a regular news conference that the palace hailed Ms Ressa for being the first Filipino to win the prestigious award. Ms Ressa and fellow journalist Dmitry Muratov from Russia shared the 2021 prize after braving the wrath of the leaders of their countries to expose corruption and misrule.

Ressa has been reportedly fighting multiple legal challenges in courts related to Rappler's dogged investigative reporting of Duterte's government, its bloody war on drugs, and its use of social media to target opponents. "It is a victory for a Filipina and we are very happy for that," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said. "Of course it is true there are individuals who feel Maria Ressa still has to clear her name before the courts," he said, in the first comment on Friday's award from Duterte's camp.

It was the first Nobel Peace Prize for the Philippines and the first for journalists since the German Carl von Ossietzky won it in 1935.  The Kremlin congratulated Muratov on Friday, describing the investigative journalist as talented and brave. Asked on Monday what her message would be to Duterte, Ressa urged him not to pursue a divide and conquer approach.

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