A Department of Education (DepEd) official on Monday confirmed that there was a memorandum ordering the removal of the word, "Diktadurang Marcos" in the Araling Panlipunan (AP) Curriculum of Grade 6.
In a statement, DepEd Bureau of Curriculum and Teaching Director Joyce Andaya confirmed that her office received the memo that directed the change of "Diktadurang Marcos" to simply "Diktator" from a Bureau of Curriculum Development (BCD) specialist.
"This was submitted to my office and forwarded to the Office of Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching," she added.
Andaya said the letter was not final as this will undergo "internal processes".
"Our BCD specialist can really express themselves, and we respect their stand on curricular issues," she added.
The DepEd Bureau of Curriculum and Teaching Director, however, clarified that there was no "political pressure" to change the word.
She then debunked claims that the memorandum was a historical revisionism attempt.
Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT-Teachers) Rep. France Castro was the first to criticize the removal of the "Diktadurang Marcos", saying that this was an apparent attempt to revise history and insult all martial law victims.
She also pointed out that the recent move violates Section 27 of the Republic Act (RA) 10368 or Marcos Human Rights Victims Reparation.
Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman also said that the removal contradicts RA 10368, which he said mandates DepEd and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) "to include in the curriculum from primary to tertiary education of the atrocities of Martial Law under the dictator, Sr. and the heroism of the Martial Law victims of human rights violations."
