Malacañang on Monday welcomed the general education subject offered at the University of the Philippines Diliman that will tackle the language, literature, and culture under martial law in the Philippines.
“That’s good. If that’s a subject matter, students should learn any subject that concerns governance,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
Philippine Studies 21 was recently approved by the university council, a policy-making body of the academic institution, according to online news site Onenews.ph.
The three-unit subject will be available for students from all disciplines as an option for their general education subject requirements.
It will cover martial law under Spanish occupation of the Philippines and during the time of Philippine presidents Ferdinand Marcos, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte.
The development of the new subject came after the University Student Council of the UP Diliman passed a resolution for additional general education subjects and electives on martial law education.
Aside from the development of the new subject, the UP president also declared Sept. 21, the anniversary of the martial law proclamation in 1972, as Day of Remembrance of the Role of the University in Resisting Martial Law.
Then-President Ferdinand Marcos imposed the emergency on Sept. 21, 1972 to save the republic from what he called a state of rebellion and to enable him to institute urgent national reforms. He lifted martial law on Jan. 17, 1981.