MANILA, Philippines – Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Tuesday, October 25, denied the alleged “rebranding” of Martial Law or historical revisionism in favor of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Department of Education (DepEd).

“Bilang Education Secretary, wala po sa aking mandato ang pagsira sa integridad ng ating kasaysayan,” she said. (As the education secretary, it’s not my mandate to destroy the integrity of our history.)

“At ang Department of Education (DepEd) – na kasalukuyang abala sa mga programang naglalayong maiangat ang kalidad ng basic education sa Pilipinas – ay walang panahon para sa historical revisionism na pilit na iginigiit ng ilang mga anti-Marcos groups,” the Vice President added.

(And the DepEd – that is currently busy with its programs on improving the quality of education in the Philippines – doesn’t have time for historical revisionism that’s being alleged by some Anti-Marcos groups.)

Duterte said that the terms Bagong Lipunan (New Society) and Martial Law are both historical facts.

“It is a historical fact that New Society refers to the program launched by Former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. during his administration. And it is another historical fact that Martial Law refers to the 14-year rule of the former President,” she said.

‘Not in business of erasing facts’

The Vice President issued the statement following a learning module from the senior high school curriculum that went viral on social media allegedly trying to rebrand the Martial Law years as “period of the New Society.”

“Both terms have been used in DepEd textbooks since 2000 – within their proper context,” Duterte said.

“DepEd is not in the business of erasing these facts and replacing them with something else,” she added.

The said module, which was from Marinduque, characterized the years Martial Law years (1972 to 1981) as a time when economic progress and discipline dominated conversations and “newspapers donned new forms.” That part of the module, however, did not discuss how media was controlled and silenced at the time. (READ: Marcos years marked ‘golden age’ of PH economy? Look at the data)

The controversial module, which was made during the Duterte administration when Leonor Briones helmed the DepEd, also said that the “New Society” began on September 21, 1972, when the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under Martial Law.

The Vice President, however, said that the part of the module that went viral on social media didn’t capture the whole discussion on Martial Law.

“Ibig sabihin, kulang ito sa konteksto at maaari itong baluktutin ayon sa naratibo ng mga bumabatikos sa DepEd at nagpapakalat ng kasinungalingan tungkol sa rebranding at historical revisionism,” Duterte said.

(It means that it lacks context and it can be twisted based on the narrative of the DepEd critics and those spreading lies about the supposed rebranding and historical revisionism.)

She noted that as a child, she too was part of the anti-Marcos movement in Davao because of her late paternal grandmother, Soledad Duterte, who led the Yellow Friday Movement, a Mindanao-grown movement that opposed the Marcos administration in the 1970s to ’80s. (READ: Meet Davao’s foremost ‘yellow’ activist: Soledad Duterte)

“Bilang bata, hindi ko mabilang ang mga yellow pages sa directory ng telepono na ginupit ko para gawing confetti ng mga Yellow Friday Movement demonstrations sa pangunguna ni Soledad Duterte, ang aking yumaong lola, sa Davao City. Mukhang mas marami tayong ambag sa mga pagkilos laban sa Martial Law kaysa sa ilang maiingay na anti-Marcos ngayon,” she added.

(As s child, I couldn’t remember how many yellow pages of the telephone directory I cut just to make confetti every Yellow Friday Movement demonstrations led by my late grandmother Soledad Duterte in Davao City. It seems that I contributed more in terms of actions against Martial Law compared to some noisy anti-Marcos individuals now.)

The Marcos-Duterte tandem won in the 2022 elections by wide margin. Studies have shown that the Marcos family have benefitted from disinformation operations online to whitewash their name. – Rappler.com