HISTORY SUBJECT | Teacher solon renews calls for reviving Philippine history as high school subject

July 4, 2022 , 05:55 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(July 4, 2022) – The lower house of Congress should push for the passage of legislation reviving Philippine history as a high school subject, a left-wing teachers’ party-list said on Monday after an actress drew flak for describing history as akin to “gossip.”

France Castro, a representative of ACT Teachers party-list, said the viral remarks from Ella Cruz – who played as Irene Marcos, daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., in the controversial film “Maid in Malacañang” – showed the need for a basic education curriculum that will not aid in the distortion of history.

“Pinatunayan lamang muli na kailangang kailangan talaga na ibalik ang Philippine History bilang asignatura sa high school dahil ngayon, tinuturing na lamang itong ‘tsismis’ ng iilan upang baluktutin ang kasaysayan ng ating mamamayan,” Castro said in a press release.

Cruz, in an interview with The Philippine Star published on Saturday, shared her experience working on the incoming film described to depict the last days of the late dictator’s family in the Palace. She claimed that people won’t know what “true history” is because they are always clouded by “bias.”

“History is like tsismis. It is filtered and dagdag na rin, so, hindi natin alam what is the real history. Andoon na iyong idea, pero may mga bias talaga,” the actress was quoted saying in the article.

The quote went viral on social media, with historians and political observers calling out the actress’ claim for dismissing the efforts of experts in researching the truth about the nation’s past. Others also described it as an attempt at twisting history and a sign of weaknesses in the country’s education system.

Castro said she has refiled a measure, which seeks to revive Philippine history as a separate subject in high school, as part of her priority legislation in the 19th Congress.

The lawmaker lamented that the Department of Education’s 2014 order effectively removed Philippine history from the basic curriculum, having its lessons only integrated in other subjects. She said this took away the fundamentals that distinguished the field from mere “gossip.”

“We are already seeing the destructive effects of the absence of Philippine History as a subject in basic education. Our history, especially during the times of the martial law of Marcos Sr. and its effects in our lives today has been denied and distorted,” she said.

Marcos Sr. imposed martial law in 1972 that effectively lasted for over a decade until he was ousted by a popular uprising in 1986. His two-decade rule saw thousands of extrajudicial killings, detention, and tortures. The ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator, his family and associates are also estimated at $5 billion at least.

His family gradually returned to power over the next decades, which political observers have blamed on social media disinformation. His only son and namesake, Ferdinand Jr., was sworn in as the 17th President of the Philippines last week.

In his inaugural speech where he praised his father’s achievements, Marcos Jr. said that he will have educational materials in schools “rethought” but not materials on history.

(MM)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.