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MANILA, Philippines—In the Philippines, people honored for their contributions to the country’s history are commemorated every August.
Through Proclamation No. 339 signed by the late President Benigno Aquino III, History Week—originally observed from September 15-21 of every year—was transferred to the whole month of August.
The month of August was then declared as History Month, noting that major events in Philippine history occurred in the same month which concludes with the observation of National Heroes Day.
The commemoration of National Heroes Day itself also holds a long history—which mostly narrates the different dates when the national event was celebrated in the past decade.
However, on July 24, 2007, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law Republic Act No, 9492, which amended Book 1, Chapter 7 of the Administrative Code and set National Heroes Day as a regular holiday celebrated on the last Sunday of August, in line with Republic Act No. 3827 in 1931 and Administrative Order No. 190 in 1952.
Through R.A. 9492, the celebration of National Heroes Day falls on the last Monday of August.
According to the Official Gazette, “the rationale behind the move was President Arroyo’s ‘Holiday Economics’ program, which aimed to reduce work disruptions by moving holidays to the nearest Monday or Friday of the week, thus allowing for longer weekends and boosting domestic leisure and tourism.”
In celebration of History Month and National Heroes Day, INQUIRER.net looks back at this year’s controversial TV reality show episode, which had sparked calls for actions to provide better history lessons to Filipino youth—as well as the lessons the public can draw from the issue that they can apply in commemorating the country’s history and heroes.
MarJo, MaJoHa who?
In April, an episode of the hit reality show Pinoy Big Brother (“Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10 Teen Edition”) went viral online when teen “housemates” gave hilarious yet very concerning answers during a quiz bee.
During that episode, host Robi Domingo asked questions surrounding basic Philippine history. One question, in particular, grabbed the attention of netizens, which led to heated discourse online.
When asked how the three Filipino martyred priests—Fr. Mariano Gomes, Fr. José Burgos, and Fr. Jacinto Zamora—were commonly known as, the teen housemates mistakenly answered “MarJo” and “MaJoHa,” instead of the correct answer, Gomburza.
Exclusive na pampa-good vibes just for you Team Online and Kumunity: Kai at Gabb, binigyan ng bagong tawag ang GOMBURZA!
Abangan ang resulta ng weekly task ng mga Teen Housemates mamaya, 7pm sa sa A2Z Channel, iWantTFC, TFC, KC, KOL & Jeepney TV #PBBTeen2ndEviction pic.twitter.com/IP9WMRLMfY
— Pinoy Big Brother (@PBBabscbn) April 10, 2022
The three martyred priests were sentenced to public execution by garrote by the Spanish colonial authorities on February 18, 1872, as a result of false accusations.
GRAPHIC Ed Lustan
All three were accused and said to be found guilty of allegedly orchestrating the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, and charged with treason and sedition.
“They were, in the words of National Artist Nick Joaquin, heroes by accident,” said the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
“Yet the tragedy of their deaths clarified the necessity for independence which made the hijos del pais – children of the soil – evolve into mga Anak ng Bayan.”
The teen housemates also failed to correctly answer what José Rizal’s famous nickname is (Pepe)—one answered “J. Rizal.”
In response to the question, How was Melchora Aquino, the mother of the Katipunan, popularly known?, the teen housemates said “Ninoy Aquino” and “Nanay ng bansa”—far from “Tandang Sora,” which is the correct answer.
Snippets of the episode’s quiz bee portion circulated and went viral online and were met with backlash and violent reactions by netizens, highlighting how “alarming” and “concerning” it is that some Filipino youth do not know the most basic information about the country’s history.
Backlash, calls for action
Even the show’s host expressed his dismay and called for improvements in the country’s education system.
“At first, it’s funny but as time passes by, it’s not amusing anymore. I hope this will be a way to shed light on,” Domingo said in Filipino.
READ: Robi Domingo calls to address education gaps after GomBurZa was called ‘MaJoHa’ on PBB
READ: Commentary: Are the youth at fault for not knowing history or is it the education system?
Several netizens echoed Domingo’s sentiments, calling for the opening of schools. The episode, according to education advocates, also highlighted the gaps in the country’s education system, which were exacerbated by the pandemic and issues hounding the blended learning system.
READ: The promises and pitfalls of blended learning in PH
The episode also prompted House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro, a member of the ACT Teachers party list, to hasten the passage of a proposed measure, House Bill No. 8621, which seeks to restore the subject of Philippine history in the high school curriculum.
According to Castro, the teenagers in the show gave the wrong answers because Philippine history was “abolished as a separate subject when the new K-to-12 curriculum was adopted in 2013.”
Under the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, or Republic Act No. 10533, two more years were added to the Philippine education system, and certain subjects like history were removed from the school curriculum.
“The DepEd (Department of Education) claims that Philippine history is still part of the current curriculum but professional organizations’ analyses point to the fact that discussions of events in Philippine history are only integrated in several subjects,” she said.
“What we need is an independent subject, focused not only on teaching mere narration of facts and figures but also on ensuring that the students understand the implications of major historical events in our daily lives today,” she added.
With the Department of Education (DepEd) getting the brunt of the blame, then Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that game shows are not indicative of the country’s education system, adding that the agency was only “faithfully” implementing the curriculum passed on to them by the previous administrations.
However, an editorial column published by INQUIRER.net countered that the TV show episode “may yet be the latest indication of the country’s learning crisis.”
Still, it pointed out that the issue was not wholly DepEd’s fault, emphasizing social media platforms which have become “the default distraction among young people these days.”
READ: Learning from ‘MaJoHa’
Lessons learned
Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo in one of his columns summarized what must be done—beyond restoring Philippine History as part of the school curriculum—to fix this generation’s historical amnesia.
“Non-negotiables are: first, a standard Philippine history text that is factually correct, updated with current interpretations, and stimulates discussion; second, Araling Panlipunan and Kasaysayan must be taught by social studies or history majors,” Ocampo wrote.
“[T]hird, students are taught how to present their research, in written or oral form, by arguing a point and separating fact from opinion; fourth, that students learn to use the internet critically to recognize reliable sites and content from junk,” he added.
“[F]ifth, students should learn to call things by their proper name, meaning that “historical revisionism” is wrong because revision entails review and correction; to do otherwise is “historical distortion.”
READ: History is not a quiz bee
Meanwhile, Juven Nino Villacastin, an instructor at the University of the Philippines Mindanao, reminded the public about the important “task of remembering.”
“Yes, we should open the schools. But the task of remembering should not just be limited to Philippine history subjects inside the classroom,” Villacastin said.
“The task of remembering is not exclusive to our students. We are all responsible for remembering our national past; we all have a stake in keeping our collective memory alive,” he said—a lesson that the public should keep in mind in commemoration of National Heroes Day and History Month.
READ: Failure of education: ‘MarJo?’ and the task of remembering
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