LATE last week, Friday to be exact, the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos found itself at the center of a social media firestorm when a student posted a photo, which quickly went viral, of a video praising the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos playing on a widescreen monitor at the school’s main lobby went viral.
Daniel Pollentes, former editor in chief of the College of Engineering publication The Module, went a step further, using a detail from a corner of the video, a watermark saying: “Justice for Marcos,” as a follow-up post.
“Videos with this watermark are now playing in the UNOR lobby. ‘Justice for Marcos’,” he wrote. “Does this reflect school policy? I hope they don't forget to ask for justice for the 3k+ killed.”
Things really started heating up when the official Facebook account of UNO-R, handled by VP for External Affairs Carlos Legaspi Jr., entered the fray, explaining – or trying to – that the video was part of a series of 30, 15 each for or against Marcos, and all yanked off, YouTube that sought to “present two sides,” the “pros and cons” of that dark chapter of our history he forced us into.
This only drew more people, myself included, with most pointing out that not only could there be no “balance” between the atrocities committed during the Marcos regime and whatever good it may have done, that as far as educating people go, it is simply wrong to use videos pulled from the Internet without proper vetting to ensure these came from credible sources, and especially not without providing the proper context.
If balance was all that was needed, then we could start a series with, say, the “pros and cons of extrajudicial killings,” the “pros and cons of plunder,” the “pros and cons of corruption,” the “pros and cons of electoral fraud,” and so on, and so forth.
The Bacolod chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines was sufficiently “appalled” to issue a statement calling the attempt at balance “already, on its face, an attempt at historical revisionism.”
Caloy Legaspi eventually apologized and claimed full responsibility in a post on the local NUJP chapter’s page, making special mention of the victims of martial law, and took full responsibility for the unfortunate incident.
It might have ended there, except for a couple of things.
First, all the comments made by under the official UNO-R Facebook account on Pollentes’ wall, as well as the apology posted on the NUJP page, were deleted without explanation, with only a statement on the school’s own wall remaining.
Which would be par for the course except for this paragraph: “The picture posted by Mr. Daniel Pollentes was taken out of context. I appreciate the effort of Mr. Pollentes in expressing his sentiments, but I would appreciate it better if he channeled his sentiments more appropriately like a real gentleman.”
And then there was the interview Caloy Legaspi gave to SunStar Bacolod’s Carla Cañet, which is recorded in a video, in which he insinuates that Pollentes was irresponsible and, worse, “it might be gani nga siya ang ahente ni Marcos” for posting what he did.
This was a low blow. Worse, it was, for all intents, wielding his moral authority as a ranking official of the school against a student whose only fault – if you can even call it that, which I will not – was to point out what to him was an anomaly and asking that all-important question people seldom ask: “Why?”
If anything, UNO-R should actually commend Pollentes for showing a keen sense of history and historical justice, and boldly speaking out, proving that he has truly taken to hear the education the institution provides. For after all, isn’t education supposed to spark and nurture critical thinking in the youth? Isn’t it supposed to teach them not to take anything at face value but to question and seek for the truth?
The fact is UNO-R has, for the most part, clearly succeeded in doing so, as the many social media posts of its graduates who have taken offense at the Marcos video prove.
Truly, if there is a silver lining to this unfortunate episode of what can only be described as miseducation – don’t even get me started discussing why YouTube propaganda videos should NEVER be used as educational material – it is Mr. Pollentes and all the other young people who joined the discussions, proving that, for all the derogatory impressions people have about millennials, the youth, indeed, remain the hope of the motherland.
With them, I can rest assured the future is in good hands.