DAVAO CITY—The camp of Vice President-elect Sara Duterte said Saturday ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro’s “false claims on history revisionism” is premature and misleading, pending the presentation of the education agenda by the incoming administration.
Castro has called on Duterte, the incoming secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), to restore Philippine History as an independent subject in the high school curriculum to prevent revisionism.
On May 12, Duterte accepted the offer of incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to head the DepEd so she can help produce “skilled learners”.
“Do not use our education system as a tool for further revision of our history. The next DepEd chief should be able to discern the importance of the subjects, as according to her, this would play a major role in the downfall of the quality of education,” Castro said in a statement on Friday.
Liloan Mayor Christina Frasco, spokesperson of Duterte, similarly challenged Castro not to give in to her personal and political agenda and to focus on upholding the welfare of thousands of teachers by legislation, which is her duty and mandate.
“Taking a belligerent and combative stance in the molding of our youth serves no one except perhaps those whose intention it is to foment discord and disunity in our country,” Frasco said in a statement.
Castro claimed the subject was removed from the high school curriculum under the K to 12 program and events of Philippine History are only integrated into several subjects instead of having an “independent” subject.
“In any event, the current leadership of DepEd has clarified time and again that contrary to reckless and misleading claims, Philippine History is in fact being taught in K to 12,” Frasco clarified.
“It is Representative Castro who sows misinformation by making false claims on history revisionism,” she added.
