FULL TEXT: NHCP chair Maria Serena Diokno on why she is resigning
November 29, 2016 | 4:07pm
National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chairperson Maria Serena Diokno tendered her resignation on Tuesday, November 29, over the hero's burial of late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
NHCP / Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — The state's top historian, National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chairperson Maria Serena Diokno, tendered her resignation from the agency on Tuesday.
Below is the full text of why she decided to vacate her post.
At this moment in our history, every voice counts, and I wish to place mine on the side of History: not the history that the Duterte government ignores, but the History that beckons our people to demand justice that even the highest court of the land will not bestow. The burial of Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani is wrong; it denies our History, erases the memory of the lives lost and destroyed, mocks the collective action we took to oust the dictator, and denigrates the value of our struggle for freedom.
Notwithstanding the narrow view adopted by nine members of the Supreme Court, President Duterte could have taken the higher ground. But he chose not to. Worse, he justifies his 'legalistic' action by claiming, falsely, that 'there's no study, no movie, about it [Marcos's record as leader], just the challenges and allegations of the other side' (18 November 2016).
For a moment I thought I could remain at the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and protect our history from those in and out of government who attempt to deface it.
But the multitude of especially young Filipinos who have come out in defense of History and are prepared to co-author it for their generation and the future point to one clear realization: they, we all, will guard our history.
Today I tendered my resignation from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (effective 1 December 2016). I have deep gratitude and respect for my fellow workers at the Commission, who I will miss. I am saddened at leaving them.
Tomorrow I will join the popular assertion of our history and look forward to more in as many public venues as possible. Never again will we allow any remnant of the authoritarian past to take hold of our country.
Maria Serena I. Diokno
29 November 2016
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