Sen. Manny Pacquiao intends to file a bill that will include a subject on patriotism in our schools. But our Constitution already mandates that “[a]ll educational institutions … shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism…”
However, teaching patriotism and nationalism requires teaching our children who are the heroes whose example they should emulate. It is precisely why our Constitution mandates, too that these educational institutions inculcate “appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country.”
But how could our children learn patriotism and nationalism when this administration, which Pacquiao is a rabid defender of, has allowed Marcos to be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani?
This only perpetuates the lie in clear distortion of history that he is a hero, notwithstanding the finding of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, which by law “has the authority to determine all factual matters relating to official Philippine history” that Marcos has a doubtful military record, one fraught with myths, factual inconsistencies and lies; notwithstanding the numerous decisions of the Supreme Court declaring him to be indeed a dictator who robbed our people of their basic rights and freedoms, who violated their human rights wholesale and who plundered the nation’s wealth.
There is already a law which recognizes the heroism and sacrifices made for the country by the countless victims of human rights violations during martial law under Marcos.
Worse, this administration’s countless trolls, fanatics and rabid apologists continue to denigrate the memory of our country’s true heroes such as those who fought the Marcos dictatorship like Ninoy Aquino, and countless others who suffered and died in the course of the struggle like senator Jovito Salonga whose death anniversary incidentally was last March 10.
As a whole, they denigrate, too the glorious and heroic struggle of our people against the Marcos dictatorship which culminated in the Edsa People Power Revolution, which is in fact already part of our nation’s historical and cultural heritage that our Constitution and our laws direct the state to conserve and promote.
SEVERO BRILLANTES, brillanteslaw@gmail.com