(by Dang Samson Garcia)
ACT TEACHERS Party-list Representative France Castro called on the Department of Education to restore the accurate historical representation of the martial law period in textbooks used in schools.
Castro also urged her fellow legislators to join her in defending the truth and ensuring that the next generation is aware of the atrocities and human rights violations committed during the regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
“The decision to remove Marcos from the term ‘Diktadurang Marcos’ is a clear revision of history and an insult to the countless victims of human rights abuses and atrocities committed during the martial law period,” Castro said.
“This is a clear violation of Republic Act 10368 or Marcos Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013 and the DepEd should know this,” Castro emphasized.
The teacher turned lawmaker said that she believes that it is the duty of teachers to teach the truth to the younger generation.
She said that by removing “Marcos” from the term, the nation is denying students the opportunity to fully understand the historical context and the impact of martial law on our nation.
“This decision is a disservice to their education and a disservice to the pursuit of historical truth,” she stressed.
“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 for name for the dictatorship,” she added.
