President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in various occasions and fora articulated about historical injustices. He even went to the point of bringing with him big pictures to show images of these injustices committed by the colonizers.
Our history books are not only erroneous but above all they are church-centric and pro-colonizers, oligarch-apologists, and summation of anti-Moro/Muslim narratives in the annals of the so-called Philippine history.
It was not surprising that most of the Indios, Moros, and Infieles based on the classifications of the Spanish conquistadores hated themselves; and considered the Moros/Muslims as the others, villains, marauders, pirates, etc. in their own lands and shores.
Those were part of the grand designs to erase the roots of the ethnolinguistic tribes to further divide them and fight against each other to hasten the implementation of the Crusade---the unfinished business of the union of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon after the decline of Islamic Europe following the almost 7 centuries of Moors/Muslims rule of Europe---to propel Christianization process following the Papal Nuncial declaration of dividing the world into two for Spain and Portugal to colonize and Christianize.
In fact, in our primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of education we were never thought of history (by answering the hows and the why questions to further develop critical thinking), but we were thought chronology (the who, when, where, what questions were popularized by the neo-colonial educators in order for us and the generations to come not to have hindsight that is indispensable for the present and as foundation for the foresight.
Oral and local history nowadays is a strong methodology to re-writing history. Historicity brought about by the development of Historiography really has something to do with perspectives.
Historians are seemingly the final adjudicators.
Indeed, we cannot give much less share what we do not know about. Moreover, some are advocating without understanding!
It is about time that history will be written from within considering the perspectives of various communities with their social milieu, and ways of life.
The historical consciousness of people in the hinterlands and islands have to form part in the development of the national or federal history of the Philippines with respect. I therefore humbly recommend the following books for every starter and non-history-lensed readers and professionals:
1) The two volumes of former Prof. Dr. O.D. Corpuz based on his Ph.D. dissertation at Harvard entitled, "The Roots of the Filipino People;" and his "An Economic History of the Philippines." Both were republished by UP Press.
2) Prof. Dr. C. A. Majul, Muslims in the Philippines (republished by UP Press). Also, his book entitled, Contemporary Muslims in the Philippines (published in the US and very limited copies in the RP because it was banned during the Martial Law and beyond).
3)The Filipino Saga: History as Social Change by: Prof. Dr. Rosario Mendoza Cortes, Prof. Dr. Celestina Puyal Boncan, and Prof. Dr. Ricardo Trota Jose.
