Lies and propaganda paint a 
non-existent history

Revising narratives to fit into our paradigms creates a whole new story of conflict.
Written by Chloe Mari Hufana
Collage by Gaby Bacani and Kai Javier
Historical distortion is not alien to Philippine history. Discussed on topics about manipulated information and promoting propaganda, this can be achieved by curating scenes that didn’t happen, altering dates or names, or omitting events altogether. Up to date, some personalities and the minorities have their stories interwoven with false historical narratives, molding their reputation and identity.

Historical distortion occurs when falsification happens on historical accounts in pursuit of a personal agenda, involving disinformation to change history. One of its large implications is “robbing us off of our identity,” as explained by professor Mr. Joey Dela Cruz in a press conference of the National Campus Press Olympiad. Take the experiences that the indigenous group of Lumads faces.

The faint echoes of their cries
Last February, 21 Lumad students were illegally arrested in Cebu City for a “rescue” operation. Police Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo said that the children were reportedly being trained for “militant” and “leftist” activities. Save Our Schools Network, a network of non-governmental organizations advocating for children’s right to education, denied these claims and said that the students’ parents may have been forced to justify the “attack.”

Indigenous people are often victims of red-tagging whereas some of their schools were shut down, fellowmen were arrested without warrants and native lands were taken.

Lumads also face problems with big companies, mostly foreign-owned, which Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch in the Philippines, in a tweet, called “development aggression.” The Lumads, who have defended their lands from incursions, suffer from the government’s neglect of their rights which may be rooted in being in favor of big businesses.

Lumad Deputy Secretary Datu Benito O. Bay-ao stated in an exclusive interview last November 2019, “Unang una ‘yung si Duterte...kasi may kamag-anak ‘yun na may company—‘yung Ulticon Builders Inc. o UBI. Gusto nilang pasukin ‘yung Pantaron Range. Kung masisira ang isang bundok ay marami po ang apektado. Ang gusto naman po na tahimik kami mamuhay doon sa aming komunidad; payapa, walang gulo, makapag-aral lang ‘yung kabataan. Pero doon, nangyari ‘yun, sa pagpasok po ng mga military sa [Talaingod] komunidad.”

Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy, in a Facebook post, sets a sample of historical distortion which stated that “Lumad” is a made-up word by the Communist Party of the Philippines and its allies to forward their agendas. However, “Lumad” is a Cebuano-Visayan term for “native” and was recorded in 1972 by John Wolff, a professor emeritus of linguistics at Cornell University.

As authorities have painted their own narrative that fits their political agendas, this is a clear implication of how detrimental historical distortion could be.

Reminiscent of an inexistent past
A trip down memory lane would remind the people of the supposed “imperial family” of the Philippines—the Marcoses. The longstanding notion that the Philippines’ “golden age” was during former President Ferdinand Marcos’ term is a lie. In fact, academics explained that due to capitalism in his administration, the country’s debt worsened from $8.2 billion to $26 billion.

Meanwhile, the current-day reality is the ongoing war between the “Dilawan” and “DDS.” Their exchanges swarmed across social media which include fabricated lies about the past. A photo posted by four Facebook users across three pages shows a comparison of the situation of Manila Bay during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III versus President Rodrigo Duterte. The former, which was apparently taken during the Duterte administration, was represented by a photo full of garbage, while the latter was a photo of a clean beach.

Hearing one lie isn’t as convincing as compared to hearing the same lie from thousands of people. When an individual starts to question what it believes in, then the seeds of propagandas have successfully been planted. Let’s not wait for it to bear the fruits of misinformation that would negatively affect our history.

The past molds the future. It is high time that people start recognizing the importance of fact-checking to stop the perennial tragedy of historical distortion.