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OPINION
// THE LASALLIAN RHEIMS
Bagong Dekada '70: The Rise of Diktajunior ALAPAAP // Andrew Dela Plana
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ever Forget. The academe has always sided with the known truth, and based its teachings on facts and written history. It has always respected the books that were written for the purpose of education and information, and it would not just allow any unreliable source of information to be part of its curriculum. However, the Philippine educational system may have failed once again, as the majority of Filipinos, especially students, have failed to comprehend the horrors and atrocities of the dreaded Martial Law era that happened during Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s regime. It is seen very clearly that until now, its history has been whitewashed and "watered down," so that most Filipinos have dozens of misconceptions that have stemmed from the continuous bombardment of disinformation on social media. No one can deny that social media played a role in the Marcoses' return to power. Its contents range from silly conspiracy theories to large scale troll farms that would push the idea of the Martial Law period being the Philippines’ "Golden Age" due to the development of numerous infrastructures and different laws signed during the Marcos presidency. The historical distortion (a term here which means that it occurs when history is changed to suit a personal agenda and typically involves disinformation) regarding the Marcoses peaked during 2016—the year when Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. ran for vice president and also when Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was given a hero’s burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. However, while the historical distortion peaked during the 2016 elections, it started way back when the Marcoses were allowed to enter the country. The minds of the Filipino people were conditioned to the point where they
would blame the "dilawans," or the Liberal Party, for not bringing the immediate change that they supposedly promised after the 1986 EDSA revolution. Pictures and propaganda spreading that the Aquinos and Cojuangcos are the ones to blame for destroying the "democracy" and "freedom" that the Marcoses supposedly gave them were rampant on social media websites, blogsites, and Youtube videos. It is a must that Filipino people remember that the EDSA revolution did not present immediate solutions to the country's problems back then, but it did provide the country with numerous options and gave the people their freedom back after the deadly regime. And while the Aquinos are indeed regarded as the "saviors" back then, both they and the Marcoses are two sides of the same coin. The EDSA revolution wasn’t about Marcoses against the Aquinos. It has been about the years of struggle of the Filipinos under the Marcos rule finally coming to an end because of the people. It was about Filipinos against the oppressors, the Marcoses. While all of these were taught in grade school, they were not taught in depth in most schools, and are not regarded as topics of utmost importance. Additionally, Philippine history itself is not part of the high school curriculum, which explains the numerous people falling for fake news regarding Martial Law. It is not entirely the fault of the people for engaging in misinformation and disinformation, as the people have been subjected to various types of mind conditioning and have heard various types of stories that have painted the Martial Law in a glorious, bright light. It is those who are in power, who have let the Marcoses return to power and have not done anything to prevent what happened in the past from happening in the future again.
Never Again. After the 2022 elections, it seemed as if the martial law survivors and victims were spat on–their efforts were invalidated, and all they could do was watch the repeat of what happened last time a Marcos was elected into power. It seems as if what should NEVER AGAIN happen, will happen in the near future. The saddest thing about this is that nostalgia is one of the driving forces for the Filipinos to elect another political dynast, and a Marcos, to be exact. This nostalgia, for the bread called Nutribun, for the lower prices of goods, for the more "disciplined" period of the country, is what drove people to elect another Marcos. It seems as if people would want to cling to this nostalgia rather than face the harsh truths, like the law of inflation, for example. It appears that aesthetic infrastructure and ruthless "discipline" will once again be valued over the lives of Filipinos. While all the speculations are pointing to a repeat of the events that transpired in the 1970s, all that the Filipinos can do now is to hope. Hope that at least the "Golden Age" version of the 1970s will be the one that will be repeated in the coming years, and not the bloody regime that, sadly, did happen in the past. Hope that Junior will not be called "diktajunior" in the coming years because of his actions. It is disappointing, and it feels as if Filipinos have let themselves down with the results of the elections. It is important, however, to note that even if the people lost, a lot still sided with the truth. The truth will not be comfortable all the time, and that is normal. At least, the people still fought for truth and sought for justice even when the future seems bleak. Brace yourselves, for this might be the "Bagong Dekada ’70." [R]
