Historical revisionism is nothing new. There are many who would like to rewrite history for a myriad of reasons. A good example is the Holocaust, or the mass murder of Jews by Adolf Hitler in World War II. Despite the evidence –the death camps, documents from Nazi Germany, photographs, film archives, and witnesses– some still have the gall to declare that the Holocaust did not happen, and was only created by the Jews to cast Hitler and Germany in a bad light. As outrageous as it sounds, there are those who are actually buying into it.
Then there is the first landing on the moon. Conspiracy theorists say that Apollo 11 did not really land on the moon but on a stage set up to look like the moon. They even offer evidence to support their theory, that the US faked the landing to show they were ahead of the Russians in the space race. And now, an important albeit dark part of Philippine history is being targeted by revisionists.
According to Juan Ponce Enrile –everyone knows who he is– not one person was arrested or killed because of their political or religious beliefs during the Marcos administration, particularly during Martial Law. Not one person. This was his statement made during a one-on-one interview with Bongbong Marcos –everyone knows who he is– of all people. Naturally, every person with a first-hand, bad, or horrific experience with martial law and all its atrocities have called out Enrile and his self-serving pronouncements. Enrile seems to have forgotten the dark part of Philippine history which he was a part of, being Marcos’ defense minister at the time. Obviously this is Enrile’s way of making amends with the son of the dictator he helped topple.
Surely Enrile knows the many victims of Marcos’ oppressive regime. Those arrested, imprisoned, and tortured by Marcos security forces. Surely Enrile knows the many relatives of those that had gone missing and never to be found. And yet he is able to make these preposterous statements without batting an eye. Is this another fake news? Enrile and Marcos are known allies of the current administration, so it wouldn’t be surprising. Or perhaps former senate president Nene Pimentel’s assessment that it’s all part of ageing offers the best explanation. As a friend put it, he’s suffering from ED-AD.
The Palace has come out with a statement that Enrile and Marcos cannot distort the history of martial law. Good for them. For a while I thought they would corroborate Enrile’s statements, since President Duterte is known to admire the late dictator. But Enrile has been called out by many for his lies, and for everyone to outright reject his version of history. His tales can join the likes of the Holocaust denial and Apollo 11 fake landing. All rejected by those who know the truth. Those who lived through those dark times to tell their tales.