Art by Jun Vince Dizon
A mistake never comes twice, they say, because the second time it does, it already becomes a choice. The case, however, becomes different if we had no idea that it was even a mistake the first time. Historical distortion has led to a multitude of errors in our actions today, but because only a few notices it and dares to, history finds ways to repeat itself.
Mistakes are not always bad, because through them, we learn the things we did wrong and the ones we can do to make them right. History gives us an idea of how we, as Filipinos, fought for our freedom and democracy in the quest of identity and solidarity. This makes historical consciousness in the community crucial in guiding the people to make informed decisions that will respond to their desires for personal growth and community development. With the education reform removing Philippine history in high school teaching, we face a challenge in sufficing what the people, especially the youth, needs to know about our own history—our own story.
A glance at historical distortion today
Historical distortion, or historical negationism, is a form of disinformation where information about historical narratives is falsified to support a personal agenda. With social media embedding itself rapidly our culture, the people especially our youth today are even more susceptible to it because of lack of knowledge and skills in combating it. Add the fact that Philippine history is no longer taught in high school, the culprit becomes, as Jamaico Ignacio, President of the High School Philippine History Movement, puts it, even more dangerous.
“The reality is, kaya delikado ang historical distortion, lahat tayo babad sa social media. At lalong-lalo na kung busy ka, halimbawa isa kang ordinaryong doktor tapos nag s-scroll ka [sa Facebook] tapos bigla kang nakakita ng historical quote, historical distortion pala, so, pano mo makikilatis? Ang hirap eh lalo na’t babad na babad tayo sa social media,” he said.
A notable scenario of historical distortion on social media was on December 30, 2020. Netizens from Twitter and Facebook posted greetings of “happy birthday” to Jose Rizal, our national hero, when in fact it was the day that we commemorate his death. Similarly, on September that same year, a comment by a certain ‘Dennis’ on Facebook surfaced high after claiming that no bullet hit Rizal the day he was shot, and that he was actually Fr. Jose Antonio Diaz who soon worked with Ferdinand Marcos.
It is amazing to think how people can connect two branches from two different trees and still grow leaves, but this proves that historical distortion has become even more attractive, and alarming at the same time.
In a bid to control the culprit
Advocates of Philippine history had already pushed forward actions that would educate Filipinos against historical distortion. When the K-12 curriculum removed Philippine history in high school teaching, a group of people saw the need for the youth to deepen their understanding of our history and existence as Filipinos through learning it, because it is the time of high school when adolescents grow and develop social consciousness and identity. The High School Philippine History Movement, with Ignacio upfront, strongly advocates the revival of Philippine history back into our education landscape.
“Sa elementary kasi, ang natutunan ng ating mga student sa Philippine history noon ay more on familiarization. Pero yung pagpapalalim, pagkaintindi sa konsepto ng ating bayan at sa ating kasaysayan, nagsisimula yan normally sa high school kasi dun nga nagsisimulang magkaroon ng kamulatan at kamalayan ang ating mga kabataan,” Ignacio shared, pointing out the purpose of their movement.
Despite the pandemic restrictions, Philippine history advocates have also found their way to spread awareness about historical distortion through online webinars. One of them is Roderick Javar, a history professor at the University of the Philippines Los Banos, who shared in his online lecture “Sa Talambuhay Nagsimula Ang Lahat: Ang Paglikha Sa Pagkabayani Ni Marcos” on September 19 last year the advantages of historical distortion for Ferdinand Marcos in his way to power. He presented that through fabricated truths and alterations in Marcos’ biographies, the dictator’s image was transformed into being heroic when he was in truth not, and that historical distortion was effective at convincing a lot of people into believing these lies.
“Kaya nga po ang challenge ko, huwag po tayong magsasawa, huwag po nating aawayan yung pagbabasa at pagreresearch ng mga credible na sources and references. Huwag po tayo basta-basta sumusubo at lumulunok ng kaalaman na nakukuha natin kung saan-saan. Kailangan ay palalimin muna natin yung kaalaman na yun kung ito ba ay totoo o hindi,” he advised on his lecture.
Magnifying our role in shaping the community
Perhaps one of the immediate things we can do now in combating historical distortion is to be vigilant, especially in social media. Awareness is a fundamental weapon we can use to not only identify the culprit, but to actually reveal it, which we can do by verifying information. Always fact-check to save ourselves and the society at large around us from misinformation and disinformation.
We must also be responsible in using social media, and along with this responsibility is the knack to encourage other people to do the same thing. This calls for our accountability in what we post and share online. This is how we play our part in cementing historical consciousness in the community and safeguarding it from historical distortion.
Mistakes, indeed, take place only once, and in our history, they must be identified clearly. We already have the power to foster growth in our communities, and we use it by retaking a look at our mistakes, and using those mistakes to drive us into recalibrating our decisions today as we actualize goals intended to create a positive change in our society.
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