Manila Bulletin
Philippines
Robredo: Textbook revisions should emphasize evils of Marcos dictatorship
Philippines
Robredo: Textbook revisions should emphasize evils of Marcos dictatorship
Robredo: Textbook revisions should emphasize evils of Marcos dictatorship
Published Jan 20, 2020 12:00 am
By Raymund Antonio
Vice President Leni Robredo may agree with former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to revise history books only if revisions will emphasize the crimes and other abuses committed during the Marcos regime.
Vice President Leni Robredo
(OVP / FILE PHOTO/ MANILA BULLETIN) Robredo, a leader of the opposition, reacted on Monday to Marcos’ call for the revision of school textbooks to remove the “false” accusations against his family. “Ako, medyo nakakatawa… Kasi kung may kailangang baguhin, kailangan siguraduhin na ma-inculcate sa bawat mamamayang Pilipino kung ano iyong kasamaan na dinala sa atin ng diktadurya,” she said in a media interview in Quezon City. (For me, I found it funny. Because if something needs to be changed, it’s to make sure that we inculcate in every Filipino citizen the evils brought by the dictatorship.) “Kasi dahil pinapayagan ulit natin iyong mga Marcos na mamayagpag, gustong sabihin hindi tayo natuto. Kaya kung mayroong kailangang baguhin, iyon iyon,” Robredo stressed. (Because we are allowing the Marcoses to flourish again, it means we have not learned. So if there is something that needs be to changed, that’s it.) The vice president has been vocal in her criticism of the Marcoses for atrocities committed during martial law. This includes her opposition to the latest attempts by pro-Marcos propagandists to revise the history of martial law. A human rights lawyer, Robredo repeatedly said Filipinos must never forget the crimes and abuses under the dictatorship of Marcos Jr.’s father and namesake, the late President Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos placed the entire country under martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, supposedly to counter threats by communist insurgents, but the military rule was marred by killings, corruption, media oppression, and human rights abuses. At a recent media forum in Manila, the former senator said history books should be revised since these painted his family in bad light and the criminal accusations were false. The recent dismissal of his family’s cases in courts, according to the younger Marcos, was proof that they had only been victims of political propaganda and the accusations against them were unproven. “They placed in the textbooks for children that this is what happened, the Marcoses stole this, that we did this. Now, it appears from the courts that not everything they said is true because they were not able to prove it,” Marcos said.
Vice President Leni Robredo(OVP / FILE PHOTO/ MANILA BULLETIN) Robredo, a leader of the opposition, reacted on Monday to Marcos’ call for the revision of school textbooks to remove the “false” accusations against his family. “Ako, medyo nakakatawa… Kasi kung may kailangang baguhin, kailangan siguraduhin na ma-inculcate sa bawat mamamayang Pilipino kung ano iyong kasamaan na dinala sa atin ng diktadurya,” she said in a media interview in Quezon City. (For me, I found it funny. Because if something needs to be changed, it’s to make sure that we inculcate in every Filipino citizen the evils brought by the dictatorship.) “Kasi dahil pinapayagan ulit natin iyong mga Marcos na mamayagpag, gustong sabihin hindi tayo natuto. Kaya kung mayroong kailangang baguhin, iyon iyon,” Robredo stressed. (Because we are allowing the Marcoses to flourish again, it means we have not learned. So if there is something that needs be to changed, that’s it.) The vice president has been vocal in her criticism of the Marcoses for atrocities committed during martial law. This includes her opposition to the latest attempts by pro-Marcos propagandists to revise the history of martial law. A human rights lawyer, Robredo repeatedly said Filipinos must never forget the crimes and abuses under the dictatorship of Marcos Jr.’s father and namesake, the late President Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos placed the entire country under martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, supposedly to counter threats by communist insurgents, but the military rule was marred by killings, corruption, media oppression, and human rights abuses. At a recent media forum in Manila, the former senator said history books should be revised since these painted his family in bad light and the criminal accusations were false. The recent dismissal of his family’s cases in courts, according to the younger Marcos, was proof that they had only been victims of political propaganda and the accusations against them were unproven. “They placed in the textbooks for children that this is what happened, the Marcoses stole this, that we did this. Now, it appears from the courts that not everything they said is true because they were not able to prove it,” Marcos said.