THE Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday confirmed a proposal to change the terminology referring to the administration of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the Grade 6 Araling Panlipunan curriculum.
Under the proposal, the term ”Diktadurang Marcos” will be changed to ”Diktadura.”
However, DepEd Bureau of Curriculum Development Director Joyce Andaya said the proposal, which was made in a memorandum that circulated online over the weekend, would still undergo review.
“Meron pa rin tayong pagkakataon na tignan ulit ang curriculum ng ating mga guro, at ng iba nating kasamahan sa education sector at kung merong mga changes or mga comments tungkol dito, susuriin po ulit natin,” she said in an online press conference.
“Teachers can always use the terms that they think are appropriate as they arise in the discussion and delivery of their lessons. It is important also for teachers to present differing and opposing perspectives and make them co-exist without erasing the other’s truth,” she added.
The proposal has drawn criticism from a number of sectors since it deals with the legacy of the incumbent president’s father, whose two-decade rule (1965–1986) was marred by issues of corruption and human rights violations.
Marcos Sr. and his family fled to Hawaii following the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, which removed them from power.
“Just because the current president is the son of the Dictator Marcos doesn’t mean that we should erase his family’s name from the proper term or name for the dictatorship,” ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro said in a statement.
She urged DepEd to drop the plan and ”restore the accurate historical representation of the martial law period in textbooks.”
Andaya said there was no political pressure on DepEd to remove ”Marcos” from the term “Diktadurang Marcos.”
“Wala pong pressure na kahit na ano na binigay sa amin para tignang muli ang curriculum. Ito ay isang proseso na aming ipinapatupad dito sa Curriculum and Teaching strand. It is an academic discourse that we always observe and follow as we review and revise the curriculum,” she said.
“Hindi maaring hindi banggitin ang pangalang Ferdinand Marcos Sr. sa pagtalakay ng paksa ukol sa diktadura,” she added.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not yet made a statement on the matter.
