THE FAR Eastern University Public Policy Center (FPPC) has launched an online interactive portal which aims to combat misinformation by providing teachers, students and the general public with verified historical information that is easily accessible.
“Our online portal aims to correct the historical inaccuracies and build civic education for the younger generation,” FPPC Trustee Maria Serena Diokno, a former chairperson of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, said in a statement on Thursday.
“They must be aware of our nation’s past and continued struggle to build a free and democratic society, in a manner that is founded in true history,” she said.
The FPPC said misinformation is a growing societal problem, adding that manipulation of fake news has become rampant across social media and other sources. It also said school textbooks do not properly cover the complete story of Martial Law and the 1986 People Power Revolution.
Last month, a senior high school student from Marinduque island posted on social media that her class was being taught to call the Martial Law era the “period of New Society.”
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio later said the Department of Education was not seeking to revise Philippine history by rebranding the martial regime of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, father of the incumbent president.
“Improving the quality and reliability of our historical narratives is imperative, now more than ever. We’re facing a tough enemy that’s plaguing the news and the education system,” FEU President Michael M. Alba said.
“We’re hopeful that our work shines a more accurate light on our past and enhances the depth of understanding about our history, ourselves, and our nation.” — Matthew Carl L. Montecillo
(The online portal may be accessed via ahttps://tinyurl.com/HearLiesTheTruth.)