In defense of historical truth, academic freedom
(Due to its significance, we yield this space to the manifesto of a group of Filipino scholars and academics in light of the presumptive electoral victory of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte. – Ed.)
THE PRESUMPTIVE electoral victory of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte signals an intensified struggle over historical knowledge and pedagogy, the erasure of traumatic personal and collective memories of plunder and human rights violations under Martial Law, and unbridled myth-making about a so-called “Golden Age“presided over by the conjugal dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.
As scholars and academics, we oppose all forms of disinformation that rely on fabrication, manipulation, deceptive rebranding, and propaganda using social media and other digital and information technologies.
We pledge to combat all attempts at historical revisionism that distort and falsify history to suit the dynastic interests of the Marcoses and their allies and to fortify their power.
We vow to protect the integrity and independence of educational, historical, and cultural institutions such as the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Science and Technology, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the National Library of the Philippines (NLP), the
National Archives of the Philippines (NAP), the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and state universities and colleges (SUCs).
We staunchly defend the right to freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression. We oppose all forms of censorship and book-banning. We condemn attempts at red-tagging individuals, groups, and institutions.
We resolutely commit ourselves to upholding academic freedom. We shall strive to promote academic initiatives to protect the memories of a most violent and traumatic period in the history of the Philippines from the continuing attempts by the Marcos family and their supporters to eradicate them. We will undertake to preserve books, documents, records, artefacts, archives, and other source materials pertaining to the Martial Law period and other aspects of the Marcos era (1965-1986). We shall critically intervene in the vetting, writing, and teaching of history and other textbooks and educational materials.
We call on our fellow scholars and academics at home and abroad to launch all kinds of activities that will ensure that these historical and collective memories will reach broader publics and never be lost.