This week, the country saw the devastating effects of putting history subjects into the backseat and peddling incessant disinformation campaigns online aimed to whitewash the past.
The repercussions of politicians’ failure for the past decades to strengthen the history curriculum; social media companies’ hunger for more clicks and interactions to shore up revenue; and the Filipinos’ indolence to study history because they perceive to have more important things to do to uplift themselves from poverty; are now taking a toll to the country’s consciousness and democracy.
In a humiliating episode of “Pinoy Big Brother Kumunity Season 10: Teen Edition,” the housemates competed in a history quiz bee as part of their weekly task. Asked about the nickname of Melchora Aquino, who took care of the Katipuneros at the height of the Philippine Revolution in 1896, Rob Blackburn responded, “Ninoy Aquino.” Asked then about Jose Rizal’s nickname, Kai Espenido, with a smile on her face, answered, “J Rizal.” Quizzed about the country’s longest bridge, which connects the provinces of Leyte and Samar, the MNL48 member Gabb Skribikin hesitatingly said, “SLEX.” And asked to identify the stylized acronym of the three priests who were executed for being wrongfully accused as the masterminds of the 1872 Cavite mutiny, Mses. Espenido and Skribikin retorted, “MarJoHa.”
While other questions were correctly answered, the four instances exploded online because of the funny-at-first remarks to the most basic history queries. Who would think that teens nowadays won’t recognize the men behind GomBurZa or the identities of Tandang Sora and Pepe or the distinction accorded to San Juanico Bridge?
It is a manifestation of how history subjects are treated as minor ones, like Physical Education or Home Economics, and viewed by many as dull and repetitive. The failure to inculcate a sense of zealousness to dig deeper into the long and arduous history of the Philippines, dating to pre-colonial times, has pushed many to be vulnerable to disinformation campaigns saturating social media with the attempt to rewrite the past.
The effects, unfortunately, have been evident in the pre-election surveys, with the frontrunner enjoying a commanding lead after fostering years of historical revisionism to disregard the human rights violations and unprecedented corruption committed during his father’s 21-year tenure. The nation was made to believe that the 70s and 80s were years of prosperity and glory – using memes, vlogs and TikTok videos – when, in fact, the economy stagnated and government coffers vanished into thin air.
They were hypnotized to demonize the succeeding administrations, underscoring their failures to erase any accountability of the late dictator in a petrifying display of whataboutism, gaslighting and ad hominem attacks.
But worse than the overloading number of fact-checkable posts on social media is a faltering education system that didn’t bother to assist students and teachers to slowly untangle the intricacies of the country’s history, passively teaching critical events, including Martial Law and the People Power Revolution, as they are drowned by administrative work and constrained by the school calendar. Add to that the galling attitude of some educators – those who just lay down activities or rely heavily on students to report – students are doomed to discern history based on factual and contextual information.
The repercussions of politicians’ failure for the past decades to strengthen the history curriculum; social media companies’ hunger for more clicks and interactions to shore up revenue; and the Filipinos’ indolence to study history because they perceive to have more important things to do to uplift themselves from poverty; are now taking a toll to the country’s consciousness and democracy.
If Gen Zs don’t know what GomBurZa even means, how will they know the things they actually fought for? And if they can’t determine who Pepe is, how will Rizal’s insights and teachings be instilled in future generations?
These are just some questions that must be reflected upon as the country heads to the polling booth next month to elect a new set of leaders. They will determine which road the educational system heads into for the following years to come. A president who rewrites history for his own gain spells trouble for the country’s identity, which is anchored on the past. And a president who fortifies troll farm networks to warp the people’s minds is the incarnation of the devil for the people who shed blood and tears to regain the freedom and dignity that was lost because of the interests of some.
If that “PBB” episode and the upcoming elections are indicators, the Filipino people are simply unaware of its basic history. Hopefully, after May 9, the right leader will rectify the glaring mistakes of timid officials and fake news peddlers, so Kuya’s housemates will know that “MarJoHa” is “GomBurZa” and the rest will wake up to the fact that it is harrowing to live under authoritarian rule.
Illustration by War Espejo for Spot.Ph.
The Edj View 