UP faculty vows to fight historical revisionism

Faculty members of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman are calling for a stronger stance against “historical revisionism” and urged the University to undertake initiatives that will ensure that students and the entire community are informed of the dangers of authoritarian rule.

The University Council, composed of regular faculty members with ranks of Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors, issued a statement expressing its disapproval on historical revisionism and called on the University to “uphold the UP tradition of militant activism.”

In the statement, the University Council manifested its concern on the University’s stance on dictatorship following the attendance of UP President Danilo Concepcion in the recently-held reunion of Imee Marcos’s Kabataang Barangay (KB) at the UP Ang Bahay ng Alumni.

The Council is calling for the development of additional General Education (GE) courses, electives and other forms of learning that “tackle and integrate the lessons from Martial Law such as standing against fascism and authoritarianism and find ways to creatively integrate it in other courses.”

It is also suggesting the that monuments and memorials to “commemorate and honor UP’s role in the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship” to be built so as “to highlight the University’s continuing stand against fascism and authoritarianism such as a establishing inside UP a people’s museum embodying and showcasing peoples aspirations and struggles for freedom including and especially during the dark days of Marcos strong rule.”

The group also underscored the need to “organize and institute activities that would commemorate and celebrate the Diliman Commune, as the UPD community’s courageous stance against authoritarianism and fascism and reclaim the symbolic meaning of the “Diliman Republic” as a haven for responsible free speech and deliberative democracy” and to designate September 21 as UP’s special day of remembrance of the “Filipino people’s unity in the fight for freedom against tyranny.” Furthermore, the Council is also firm on encouraging and supporting the “UP community’s involvement in preserving and enhancing democracy and the people’s welfare.”

Meanwhile, the Council lambasted the “unacceptable” action of Concepcion when he attended the KB reunion last August 25 and caught on camera addressing the audience while flashing the “Victory” sign the Marcoses were known for.