top of page

Tallano Gold & the Marcoses:

Updated: May 10, 2022

How Historical Revisionism is worsened through social media and disinformation


*Trigger Warning: Mention of Death and Torture


Published: May 9, 2022


 

I. Historical Revisionism


“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” -- George Orwell

Historical revisionism. The reinterpretation and reexamination of any past event or a presentation of new narratives based on newly discovered facts.



Just as scientific facts and concepts cannot stay stagnant when new findings arise from certain studies and experiments, history is subject to reinterpretations when new evidence is found that supports different explanations or different scenarios. Then, as often seen in science, older theories are either altered or abandoned completely to accommodate newly developed ones.


Historical revisionism has its positive and negative influences on history. Firstly, because history is often written by the victor, we often read biased accounts of certain historical events. Historical revisionism allows historians to examine a series of events through an unbiased and objective perspective using authentic documents, accounts, and proven facts. However, historical revisionism can always be misused.


Dishonest politicians and historians and other sly individuals make attempts to rewrite and revise history in order to benefit from it or to instigate conspiracy. This is then fueled by the spread of misinformation through various platforms, whether it be on printed material or on social media. This is the reason why the concept of historical revisionism is perceived in a negative light.


A familiar and relevant example of historical revisionism being misused in Filipino society is the Marcoses and the way the family revises and rewrites their own actions to continue their political dynasty.



II. The Marcoses and their Atrocities


Led by the dictator patriarch Ferdinand Sr., the Marcoses amassed a fortune, a lengthy political career, and millions of followings out of lies, deceit, and blood. Driven by power out of their aspirations for the Philippines, this family is one of a kind when it comes to 'serving' the people.


Ferdinand Sr. was infamous for garnering millions of pesos at the expense of Filipinos to accommodate the Marcoses' lavish lifestyle. A self-proclaimed queen and fashionista, Imelda does not deny it, and their partnership caused famine to fall upon the country, especially during the days of the Martial Law. Their children, Bongbong, Imee, and Irene, now reap the fruits of their parent's hard work, living a more than average lifestyle out of stolen money and thousands of deaths.


Under the guise of a supposed "New Society," the then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. used Martial Law to embezzle funds for his cronies, allies, and family members. The Philippines incurred an estimated 28.26 billion US dollars in debt. Said to be used for the infrastructure boom at the time, stolen funds were soon discovered and amounted to at least $5 to $10 billion as per the World Bank and UN Office on Drugs and Crimes. (Dela Peña, 2021) (Diola, 2017) Apart from the money, around 35,000 were tortured, 70,000 were imprisoned, and 3,257 were slain due to the power-hungry administration. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2016)


What’s even worse is that the dictator's son has his own share of travesties. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. did not apologize for the damage his family had brought upon the Philippines and the Filipino people. Moreover, he was admitted to a tax evasion case because he did not file his income tax returns from 1982 to 1985. (Mendoza, 2021)

His mother, Imelda, was not spared from these horrible acts. She was also tried for graft regarding embezzled funds amounting to 200 million dollars towards Swiss foundations during her late husband's reign. (Malasig, 2018) They are still yet to pay the estate tax, which amounts to a whopping 203 billion pesos as compared to its initial amount, 23 billion pesos, as per a Supreme Court ruling in 1997. (Buan, 2022) (Remitio, 2022)


Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s surviving wife and children retained their political positions after the patriarch's demise following the EDSA revolution. Despite the travesties done by their families through deprivation of rights, life, and liberty, indeed, they did not atone nor expressed regret for the fact that they are a corrupt family.


Now running for the presidency, Bongbong Marcos Jr. sought the help of the late dictator's massive followings alongside troll farms and 'influencers' to clean up the Marcos name. In the age of online dependence on information due to the ongoing pandemic, this became detrimental not only for the Filipinos but also to their history. At a time of change demanded upon the leadership, the narrative that the Marcoses paint strips the Filipinos of their right to compel change from today's leaders.



III. Examples of Historical Revisionism

It is without a doubt that humanity lives under a prestigious life filled with technology and innovation. Yet, it is unfortunate that we take our privileges for granted and that some of us remain ignorant and even are faithful believers of either misinformation and disinformation, especially regarding our very own country’s history. In light of the current health crisis, most of us regularly find entertainment through social media, a crucial platform for information dissemination and influence which can be observed during the elections season wherein digital users are more prone to read false news and historical revisions.


In Philippine history, the truly traumatizing presidential term of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. is frequently revised despite the evidences showing that various pieces of jewelry, gold bars, and paintings were purchased by the Marcoses, wherein the supposed billions and billions of the budget of our country were used.


Credible sources and interviews of the different victims of martial law are circulating around video streaming platforms, and yet, supporters of the late president continuously absorb information from predatorial sources which only intend to justify his decisions by enumerating the infrastructures built while turning a blind eye against the reports, cases, and most especially, the stories of the victims.


Another historical event that is forcefully revisioned by many is The Holocaust. Deniers of this event claimed that the mass murder and torturing of the Jewish people in the Nazis’ hands did not occur at all, in a similar manner, despite being presented with evidences, these people have chosen to shut all these down and cling to their own beliefs instead. Similar to the case of the Marcos family, both events involved dictatorship and violence in all aspects which instigates a heated debate between two parties. It is now up to the new generation to decrease the likelihood of these dreadful occurrences to happen once again.


On a more recent setting, we can infer that these are the type of people who will end an argument by telling you to “respect their opinions”, and humans as we are, we are indeed entitled to our own opinions, however, we are absolutely not entitled to our own truths, therefore, we are in no position to fantasize and turn our backs to what is real. After all, who are we to reject something that is true?



IV. Examples about disinformation through social media i.e., Tiktok, YouTube, FB, etc.


Disinformation has been rampant on social media for several years already. Regarding health, the twisted online information and updates about COVID-19 caused unnecessary panic from several citizens. Similarly, in terms of the politics in the Philippines, it is widely circulated on platforms, especially TikTok, that the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was able to obtain a massive amount of fortune with the help of 192,000 tons of gold paid by a family supposedly known as the 'Tallano royal family of the Maharlika Kingdom.'


Furthermore, a 13-second clip from TikTok claimed that the Filipinos were safe under martial law, to the point that nobody would touch an unlocked home. The period of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos was interpreted as the 'Golden Era,' even though numerous innocent people encountered death and were silenced.


The hoax on social media can also bring a candidate down, like how Vice President Leni Robredo was viral in a YouTube video claiming that the COMELEC confirmed disqualifying the aspirant after supposedly requesting money. Spliced videos on platforms like TikTok also exist, misleading people into thinking a candidate said funny, non-sense, or threatening statements. Even the media network, SMNI, disguises propaganda as news in which activists and journalists are being attacked.


The existence of fact-checkers and the aid of several platforms in taking down videos with fake information has been and will forever be significant in our nation, as the social media world can influence a mind, especially that of a voter.



V. How Historical Revisionism affects the Filipino people's perspective on the Marcoses


Our country is suffering from a serious psychological problem called "cinderella syndrome." A fatal symptom from our past trauma as a colony. Time and time again, we seek a strong, authoritative figure to "guide" us. We continually pray to find the future in their majestic and grand plans, believing they would raise us from scarcity. Yet once we do give our hearts (and votes) to them, we always end up starving, barely fending for ourselves while they, the ones who initially vowed to protect us, feast on pastries paid for with the money taken from our pockets. "Let them eat cake!" they would proudly declare, while shoving lies down our throats.


You'd think we’d run away. You’d think that after the fight we've given to escape, we’d never let it happen again. Yet it seems that some of us continue to run back to their arms. Some of us choose to believe their lies, gleefully gulping down the unseasoned deception they continually feed us.


Despite his family’s history of debt, tax evasion, lies, human rights violations, etc., Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. continues to maintain a wide lead in electoral surveys. The latest survey, conducted by the independent monitoring group OCTA Research, recorded 58% preference votes for Marcos out of the 2,400 sample size with a +/-2% margin of error. His popularity amongst voters continues to grow. With a loyal "fan base" and a talented PR team backing him up, it is no surprise that Marcos Jr. is able to not face any of the accusations against his family and/or suffer politically due to his family’s history. As the saying goes, "The devil works hard, but the Marcos family’s PR team works harder."


Spread mostly through social media (an effective move as 68% of the Philippine populace are on the internet), their propaganda targets the feeble minds of our country’s voters. As most netizens are not trained in media literacy, it is much harder for them to detect whether the information they are currently consuming is accurate or not, leading them to easily believe revisionist statements. Thus they unknowingly repeat the mistakes of the past.


As the ghosts of our past fall deeper into suffering, not only did our countrymen die, but their legacy has been tainted by fake news. Their screams remain muffled, disappearing into a void of nothingness.


You can say that it’s all liberal propaganda, no money was stolen, and Marcos’ reign as president was the best time to be alive, yet can you, without a hint of guilt, look the suffering in the eye and say that the crimes done to them were fake? Do you have the heart to tell them that their abusers are once again sitting in the highest executive position in the country? I sincerely hope not.


3,257 known extrajudicial killings, 35,000 documented tortures, 77 “disappearances”, and 70,000 incarcerations. Never let these numbers remain only numbers. Behind these statistics are our fellow countrymen who have been forcefully written off history. Their tales are forgotten. Their sufferings are overlooked.



If you would take away anything from this article, may it be this: let the blood of the fallen taint this country’s history forever. May the crimson red tint of their dried blood remain on Malacañang’s floor. Let their souls haunt us, serving as a reminder that what once happened should never happen again. Maybe then would we provide their hungry souls the justice they deserve, with their culprits behind bars: an overdue yet insufficient payment for their sins.



136 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page