ACTIVIST GROUPS criticized on Monday apparent attempts at historical revisionism, warning that distorting truths about Martial Law in the eyes of the Filipino people threatens the country’s democracy.

The Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) targeted in particular the Department of Education’s (DepEd) memorandum changing the term “Diktadurang Marcos” (Marcos dictatorship) to just “diktadura” (dictatorship) in the Grade 6 Araling Panlipunan course outline.

The group noted this as an attempt at historical revisionism days before the 106th birth anniversary of the late former president Ferdinand E. Marcos on Monday, which is celebrated in his hometown of Batac, Ilocos Norte, as Marcos Day.

During the wreath-laying rites before his monument, his son and namesake, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., praised him for leaving “a rich legacy.”

CARMMA, which is convened by groups that are calling for justice for the victims of the Martial Law regime, insist that the compound term “Marcos dictatorship” is different from merely calling the period a “dictatorship.”

In his speech in Batac, the Chief Executive claimed that his late father fought for “peace and order.”

“To the young leaders and government officials, it is my earnest hope that my late father’s values, ideals and visions for the country will spur you into aspiring for greater roles and more meaningful endeavors, much like how these have inspired me,” he said.

Arjan P. Aguirre, a political science professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, gave his reaction through a Facebook Messenger chat, saying: “This only tells us that the effort to redeem the Marcoses is a long-term project and that we will see more of these in the coming years.”

He said the attempts to whitewash the country’s Martial Law history will “certainly affect our ongoing struggles to further democratize our society.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

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