Abstract

We can see history three ways. First, there is the objective truth of the past, what has already happened, and therefore can never be undone. Second, there is history as the academic discipline that is taught in the classroom, dependent on documentation and empirical evidence, and presented in as objective and analytical a manner as possible. Then finally there is history as narrative, where dominant tropes are shaped and re-shaped by those who can influence most, even to the point of blatant manipulation of the facts, and therefore the ability to remember, or to forget.

Thirty-five years since February 1986, the EDSA Revolution remains unfinished in terms of achieving a more democratic political system, establishing greater social and economic mobility, and gaining justice for all the victims of Martial Law. There remain tangible and legal barriers that persist in how our institutions are structured and how are laws are shaped. And as we celebrate the anniversary of the end of the dictatorship, we also have to face the tragic reality that the very memory and legacy of EDSA as a historical event continues to be challenged by elements within our society. EDSA as a historical narrative needs to be reclaimed by the present generations of Filipinos. There is an urgency to separate propaganda from fact, and myth from truth.

Dr. Jose Ma. Edito K. Tirol graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1994 with an A.B. Interdisciplinary Studies degree, and an M.A. in History in 1999. For his postgraduate studies, he went to the University of the Philippines-Diliman for a Ph.D. in Philippine Studies, which he completed in 2015. The dissertation he wrote was entitled “Of Forgetting and Remembering: Social Memory, Commemoration, and the Jewish Refugees in the Philippines During the Second World War.” Dr. Tirol is now on his 26th year working for Ateneo, serving as both an Assistant Professor of the Department of History, and since 2017, Director of the Office of Admission and Aid (OAA).

His research interests include Western History, Military History, Social Memory and History.