Militant groups in Davao City mark the 46th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by then president Ferdinand E Marcos with a rally at the Freedom Park on Friday, 21 September 2018. The protesters accused President Rodrigo Duterte of having followed the footsteps of Mr. Marcos. MindaNews photo by H. MARCOS C. MORDENO
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 25 February) – The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has warned of what it calls “radical distortions in the history of Martial Law” and the event that ended the 20-year regime of Ferdinand E. Marcos 36 years ago, the EDSA People Power Revolution.
“We are alarmed by this distortion of the truth of history and the attempt to delete or destroy our collective memory through the seeding of lies and false narratives. This is dangerous, for it poisons our collective consciousness and destroys the moral foundations of our institutions,” the CBCP said in a pastoral letter issued on Feb. 25, the anniversary of the civilian-backed military mutiny that ousted the dictator.
The CBCP said that while they wish to remind the citizens to vote in the coming elections with the common good in mind, “we are appalled by the blatant and subtle distortion, manipulation, cover-up, repression and abuse of the truth, like: historical revisionism – the distortion of history or its denial; the proliferation of fake news and false stories; disinformation – the seeding of false information and narratives in order to influence the opinion of the people, to hide the truth, to malign and blackmail people.”
The pastoral letter, signed by CBCP president Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David blamed so-called troll farms for sowing “the virus of lies.”
But it added that the people themselves might be guilty too of sowing the virus of lies, “which spreads wildly and numbs our consciences.”
“This virus paralyzes our capacity to recognize God, respect truth and goodness. Thus, we do not realize that there is a ‘pandemic of lies,’ especially in the social media. This is very serious,” it added.
The CBCP called EDSA “a fruit of love of neighbor and faith” and that they were simply part of it.
“We did not invent the historic event that happened in EDSA…The peaceful revolution was not an invention of one person, one party, or one color. It was a triumph of the entire Filipino People,” the pastoral letter said.
“Many of us, Bishops, were witnesses of the injustice and cruelty of Martial Law. And up until now, the human rights abuses, the victims, the corruption, the grave debt and economic downturn of the country due to dictatorship are all well-documented. Again, we did not make these up. These are all written in our history.
“We are alarmed by this distortion of the truth of history and the attempt to delete or destroy our collective memory through the seeding of lies and false narratives. This is dangerous, for it poisons our collective consciousness and destroys the moral foundations of our institutions,” the pastoral letter added. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)
