Azriel Triviño · NEWS · 2 min read · April 01, 2024

Former Department of Education (DepEd) Bureau of Curriculum Development director Joyce Andaya confirmed in an online press conference the existence of a proposal to alter the term “Diktadurang Marcos” to just “Diktadura” in the Grade 6 Araling Panlipunan program for the newly proposed Matatag Curriculum.

Andaya explains that the memorandum was part of the agency’s internal process and is yet to be approved, as the revised K-10 curriculum is still under review as of writing.

Andaya refuted any claims of historical revisionism for the change, stating that “It is purely an academic discussion.” 

In a hearing for DepEd’s proposed budget for 2024 at the House plenary held in September, House Appropriations Vice Chair Maria Carmen Zamora stated that the removal of ‘‘Marcos’ in the term ‘Diktadurang Marcos’ in the newly proposed curriculum intended to redirect focus onto “historical themes and concepts” and not an individual presidential term. 

In a statement published on SunStar in September 2023, the Congress of Teachers/ Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND) condemned this change, believing that such a move is a prime example of disinformation to mislead individuals by manipulating historical facts and that it would distort history and downplay the image of Ferdinand E. Marcos as a dictator. As their official statement asserts, “This revision by the DepEd is a clear strategy of the current administration to rehabilitate the dark history of the Marcos family. It is also a blatant example of disinformation, where the people are deliberately misled by manipulating historical facts”. 

Other groups such as the University of the Philippines College of Education also expressed their disagreement with the change. In their official statement, they stood firm on their stance against it: “Ang pag-alis sa pangalang ‘Marcos’ ay sumisimbolo sa kawalan ng responsibilidad patuloy na hindi pag-ako ng pamilyang Marcos sa mga naging epekto ng panunungkulan ito. Kinakailangan ang lantarang pagtukoy sa indibidwal na may pananagutan sa bahaging ito ng kasaysayan nang sa gayon ay maiwasan ang anuman pagkalito sa paksang ito.” 

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) also denounced the move to change the term. On September 10, ACT party- list Rep. France Castro slammed the Department of Education’s removal of the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s name from the term “Diktadurang Marcos (Marcos dictatorship)” in Grade 6 textbooks, saying it “is a clear revision of history and an insult to the countless victims of human rights abuses and atrocities committed during the martial law period.” 

Additionally, ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua added that “The alteration of historical terminology is not only distortion but also undermines the truth about one of the darkest periods in Philippine history. Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ruled the Philippines with an iron fist, suspending civil liberties, suppressing dissent, and committing numerous human rights violations during his regime.”