MANILA, Philippines – Okay lang para kay Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation official Maria Cristina Rodriguez ang panukala ng Department of Education (DepEd) na alisin ang pangalang “Marcos” na karugtong ng “diktadura” sa mga libro.
Ani Rodriguez, kahit gawin kasi ito ay iisa lang naman ang dictatorship period sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.
“I myself am fine with ‘dictatorship’ but teachers should know how to handle that there’s only one single, notable, notorious dictatorship in our history and that’s Marcos dictatorship,” ani Rodriguez sa panayam ng CNN Philippines nitong Huwebes, Setyembre 21.
“It cannot be denied. The Marcos period was a dictatorship period,” dagdag ni Rodriguez, na isa ring martial law survivor.
Ibinahagi rin niya kung paano siya nagulat na may mga libro sa bansa na tinatawag ang pamumuno ni Ferdinand Marcos Sr. bilang “dictatorship.”
“I was in fact surprised… We are fighting very hard to have that acknowledged,” ani Rodriguez.
Matatandaan na noong Setyembre 6 ay naglabas ng memorandum ang DepEd na pinapalitan ang salitang “Diktadurang Marcos” at gagawin na lamang “Diktadura” sa Araling Panlipunan subject sa ilalim ng bagong MATATAG curriculum.
Umani ito ng samu’t saring kritisismo at nagsabing lantad na paraan ng historical revisionism.
“The alteration of historical terminology is not only distortion but also undermines the truth about one of the darkest periods in Philippine history,” ayon sa Alliance of Concerned Teachers.
“To reduce his oppressive rule to a mere ‘Diktadura’ is a disservice to the countless victims of his dictatorship and an affront to the pursuit of historical accuracy and truth,” dagdag ng Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy.
Siniguro naman ng DepEd na walang political pressure mula sa Malakanyang para baguhin ang kasaysayan at ilayo ang pamilya Marcos mula sa martial law regime. RNT/JGC
