“THE essential task of a historian is not to collect dead facts but to confront live issues. The issues are alive because they arise out of the tensions that men have toYes to upgrade Philippine History
“THE essential task of a historian is not to collect dead facts but to confront live issues. The issues are alive because they arise out of the tensions that men have to face in every generation –tensions between freedom and authority, between reason and faith, between human free will and all the impersonal circumstances that help to shape our lives.
“In order to achieve any sophisticated understanding of such matters, a student of history needs to read the views of great modern historians as they are set out in their own words. He needs to develop a measure of critical historical insight by comparing these often conflicting views with the source material on which they are based. He needs above all to concern himself with the great issues that have shaped the course of a civilization and not with historical `Problems` that are mere artificially contrived conundrums” (“Great Issues in Western Civilization”, Volume I from Periclean Athens through Louis XIV, n.d.)
The word “conundrums” was an ancient slang meaning puzzling issues or problems. This article is written amidst the question of alleged “historical revisionism”. “Revise”, per Webster, means “to correct and improve”. This is the positive interpretation which is “to change and distort”.
No doubt, Philippine history badly needs to be reviewed and improved. For instance, the crucial role of our Muslim Filipinos and our Indigenous Peoples in nation-building must be appropriately and sufficiently recognized in our history.
Hence, Congress should allocate the earliest adequate budget to our “Historical Commission” for that noble purpose. This is a positive revision of our Philippine history. We cannot be paralyzed by fear of perceiving “self-serving motives” by some unscrupulous group. We simply have to trust the members of our “Historical Commission” to do a good job of upgrading Philippine history. As stated earlier, historical “issues are alive”!
In the same vein, our Catholic Bishops` Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) years ago rejected the proposal to revise our flawed, unresponsive and inadequate 1987 Constitution “due to perceived self-serving motive. CBCP, per info actively participated in the formulation and adoption of our 1987 Constitution. “Is their rejection of revising our flawed, unresponsive and inadequate 1987 Charter likewise due to self-serving motives too”? And so we are stacked up with this great obstacle to move forward because of fear of reform. The Filipino people became victims of the status quo that stagnates instead of renewal for authentic liberation. What a sorrowful narrative indeed!
Our new President and his new administration, hopefully, learn from these lessons. What our suffering people and broken nation yearn for is a passionate and bold risks – taker, inspirational, unifier, visionary and transformative leader who leads by example. We pray that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. shall be this kind of leader who would properly revise our obsolete 1987 Charter. If he places in the hands of God his presidency, success will be his. And his success will likewise be the success of our people and nation.
We are confident that “the best is yet to come” to the Philippines. Let`s his administration be the golden era for Real Social Transformation in our beloved nation. He promised our people that “he will not disappoint us.” We take his word for it. Let`s give our new President and his new administration a chance to prove themselves. As citizens of this beautiful but fragile archipelagic nation it is our civic duty to do the needful to transform our nation “as it is in heaven”. In unity, harnessing our Filipino “bayanihan” spirit, and ating bayan bangon muli!”
Do we badly need historical revision by patriotic and nationalistic historians? We loudly shout, “Yes”! Admittedly, however, it is unavoidable that there will be several versions of Philippine history that will be written by various historians. Let students of history peruse these different versions and judge the truth for themselves. Freedom of expression must be alive in a truly democratic environment.
In this connection, may we call the attention of our new Secretary of Education – our new Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio on this matter. This article is my humble contribution to the proper education of youth of Philippine history. A famous adage of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal goes, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan, Hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.” A word of caution from yours truly, “Ang lingon ng lingon sa pinanggalingan, balon na sa harapan hindi pa nalalaman.”
Rizal’s famous books, the “Noli and Fili”, were about the past. My books are more about the future. Our new President has his own concise appeal to our people.” Judge me not by what my ancestors did. Judge me by my actions“. Let our people`s judgment of his administration be in 2028 after his term of office. In the meantime, let our people write our own history with the hope that our succeeding generations will be awed, grateful and nurture it as a legacy to grow and flourish in the future of our nation.
face in every generation –tensions between freedom and authority, between reason and faith, between human free will and all the impersonal circumstances that help to shape our lives.
“In order to achieve any sophisticated understanding of such matters, a student of history needs to read the views of great modern historians as they are set out in their own words. He needs to develop a measure of critical historical insight by comparing these often conflicting views with the source material on which they are based. He needs above all to concern himself with the great issues that have shaped the course of a civilization and not with historical `Problems` that are mere artificially contrived conundrums” (“Great Issues in Western Civilization”, Volume I from Periclean Athens through Louis XIV, n.d.)
The word “conundrums” was an ancient slang meaning puzzling issues or problems. This article is written amidst the question of alleged “historical revisionism”. “Revise”, per Webster, means “to correct and improve”. This is the positive interpretation which is “to change and distort”.
No doubt, Philippine history badly needs to be reviewed and improved. For instance, the crucial role of our Muslim Filipinos and our Indigenous Peoples in nation-building must be appropriately and sufficiently recognized in our history.
Hence, Congress should allocate the earliest adequate budget to our “Historical Commission” for that noble purpose. This is a positive revision of our Philippine history. We cannot be paralyzed by fear of perceiving “self-serving motives” by some unscrupulous group. We simply have to trust the members of our “Historical Commission” to do a good job of upgrading Philippine history. As stated earlier, historical “issues are alive”!
In the same vein, our Catholic Bishops` Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) years ago rejected the proposal to revise our flawed, unresponsive and inadequate 1987 Constitution “due to perceived self-serving motive. CBCP, per info actively participated in the formulation and adoption of our 1987 Constitution. “Is their rejection of revising our flawed, unresponsive and inadequate 1987 Charter likewise due to self-serving motives too”? And so we are stacked up with this great obstacle to move forward because of fear of reform. The Filipino people became victims of the status quo that stagnates instead of renewal for authentic liberation. What a sorrowful narrative indeed!
Our new President and his new administration, hopefully, learn from these lessons. What our suffering people and broken nation yearn for is a passionate and bold risks – taker, inspirational, unifier, visionary and transformative leader who leads by example. We pray that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. shall be this kind of leader who would properly revise our obsolete 1987 Charter. If he places in the hands of God his presidency, success will be his. And his success will likewise be the success of our people and nation.
We are confident that “the best is yet to come” to the Philippines. Let`s his administration be the golden era for Real Social Transformation in our beloved nation. He promised our people that “he will not disappoint us.” We take his word for it. Let`s give our new President and his new administration a chance to prove themselves. As citizens of this beautiful but fragile archipelagic nation it is our civic duty to do the needful to transform our nation “as it is in heaven”. In unity, harnessing our Filipino “bayanihan” spirit, and ating bayan bangon muli!”
Do we badly need historical revision by patriotic and nationalistic historians? We loudly shout, “Yes”! Admittedly, however, it is unavoidable that there will be several versions of Philippine history that will be written by various historians. Let students of history peruse these different versions and judge the truth for themselves. Freedom of expression must be alive in a truly democratic environment.
In this connection, may we call the attention of our new Secretary of Education – our new Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio on this matter. This article is my humble contribution to the proper education of youth of Philippine history. A famous adage of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal goes, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan, Hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.” A word of caution from yours truly, “Ang lingon ng lingon sa pinanggalingan, balon na sa harapan hindi pa nalalaman.”
Rizal’s famous books, the “Noli and Fili”, were about the past. My books are more about the future. Our new President has his own concise appeal to our people.” Judge me not by what my ancestors did. Judge me by my actions“. Let our people`s judgment of his administration be in 2028 after his term of office. In the meantime, let our people write our own history with the hope that our succeeding generations will be awed, grateful and nurture it as a legacy to grow and flourish in the future of our nation.
