VP Duterte: No ‘rebranding’ of martial law; New Society a ‘historical fact’

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte (INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Tuesday denied that the Department of Education (DepEd) was “rebranding” the country’s grim martial law history as the “period of the New Society” in learning modules being taught in senior high schools.

But she argued that the DepEd’s use of the term “Bagong Lipunan,” or new society, in its teaching materials was grounded in history and not a revisionist take.

In a statement, Duterte said she acknowledges the value of martial law and the 1986 People Power Revolution in the country’s history.

“As education secretary, it is not within my mandate to destroy the integrity of our history. And the [DepEd], which is now focused on projects aiming to improve the quality of basic education in the Philippines, does not have the time for historical revisionism that some anti-Marcos groups have been insisting,” she added.

But she said it was a “historical fact” that New Society “refers to the program launched by former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. during his administration.”

“And it is another historical fact that martial law refers to the 14-year rule of the former President,” Duterte said.

She said these terms had been in use “within their proper context” in DepEd textbooks since 2000, and that the department “is not in the business of erasing these facts and replacing them with something else.”

On Saturday, the Inquirer reported that a module on Philippine literary history titled “Geographic, Linguistic and Ethnic Dimensions of Philippine Literary History from Pre-Colonial to the Contemporary” labeled the years 1972 to 1980 as the “period of the New Society.”

The module, created during the Duterte administration based on its cover page, first came to light after a student at a Marinduque school wrote about it on social media, drawing criticisms over the revisionism or “historical denialism” on the part of DepEd.

According to the module, the new society began on Sept. 21, 1972, when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s namesake father signed a proclamation placing the country under martial law, a period known for human rights abuses, media censorship, and brutal treatment of the critical press.

‘Beauties of nature’

But the module appeared to gloss over that dark history, focusing instead on literary works that dealt with “patience, regard for native culture, customs and the beauties of nature and surroundings.”

As “newspapers donned new forms,” the module said the public favored news “on economic progress, discipline, culture, tourism and the like.”

In a statement on Tuesday, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said Duterte “only affirms that martial law is the correct term to use, and therefore corrections should be made to the modules.”

“The Vice President herself said that New Society only refers to the program implemented by President Marcos Sr.,” said Vladimer Quetua, ACT chair.

“Duterte’s statement that [New Society and martial law] are both correct only makes the agency’s position on the matter ambiguous,” he said.

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