Looking Through the Marcos Interview: The Humanization of Dictators
All people may be human, but not all are humane. When one’s image is crooked to the face of many, showcasing a humanized version of themselves will have those many return to them in a favorable light.
Aside from the historical distorted message of the viral Toni Gonzaga interview last September, there’s also another thing wrong about it: the life of Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator who was known to have killed thousands of Filipinos and stole billions from the nation’s taxes, is now humanized by this interview by exhibiting a vague narrative of their so-called ordinary life. Specially titled “The Greatest Lessons Bongbong Marcos Learned from His Father”, the interview is packed with responses compelling enough to lean the viewers to the “humble” life of the Marcoses.
The interview took public opinion on a whirlwind spiral that produced almost a month-long political noise on social media. There’s a wide gap between the masses, effectively being alienated and divided by one another — the ultimate purpose of miseducation. But what do I mean by the harmful humanization within this interview, or the simplification of one’s life in an attempt to establish a candid image, that is detrimental to the minds of the Filipino people?
We all know that in the face of the times, one has to keep up with its changes. An out-of-the-ark politician who wants to impress the people has to participate in the digital revolution that surrounds him. These efforts would be helpful to their reputation as it sharpens their image and comes in close contact with their followers and supporters, especially now that the 2022 Philippine Elections are fast approaching.
There are remarkable times of which social media display is particularly used to gain sympathy from the Filipino people. A “relatable” profile would garner thousands of Filipino followers for their constructed humility and their ultimate “humanness”. This does more harm than we think. Public servants are not celebrities, whether they are presented as either human or are idolized. But there are lines that should not be crossed when one is showcasing themselves to the Filipino people and excuse it as “an exercise of freedom of speech”. It is not unjust to use social media to exercise freedom of speech, but it is harmful when abused and distorts the freedom it claims to perform.
Social media content makers who have fans all over the country, especially celebrities, have their own social responsibility as well as the maintenance of status quo. Whether it is their decision on who to interview, and what to put out there, things will always be questioned by the public. Most public figures are prone to be attacked by a Filipino citizen. This is certain to happen. But what is publicly proposed by these entertainers is not mere exercise of “freedom” — in which no excuses can be accepted, especially if the consequences had taken place.
Such as the harmful act to give Marcoses a platform. To hold an interview with the son of the biggest thief of the country, with a caption titled “The Greatest Lesson Bongbong Marcos Learned from His Father,” and have it aired four days after the 49th anniversary of the Declaration of Martial Law is not quite coincidental at all. It becomes twice the harm when the interviewer utilized the process of “humanization” of such a person like Ferdinand Marcos. The “simple” life of the Marcoses as narrated by Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his interview with Toni Gonzaga, does not equate in any shape or form to the ruthless history behind the Marcos regime. In fact, it pushes the effort to erase it, by emphasizing only the parts of them that are human.
We have heard of the Marcoses’ family having a simple dinner at Malacañang, or the cheerful 7th birthday of Marcos’ son by treating his classmates to free ice cream — these are the stories that will be delightful to some, even genuine to the ordinary Filipino who comes across it. But these stories do not account well with the truth. These stories might seem harmless, but they form a depiction whose purpose is to garner sympathy from its viewers. This reduces the merciless, cold-blooded, kleptocratic Marcos regime into a mere custodial story in a government palace. The dictator now becomes a human. This creates a dangerous narrative that may confirm a lot of incorrect optimism of the Marcos image to the Filipino people, and will continue to be led in the path of miseducation.
But isn’t this a practice of freedom of speech? It is not merely a practice of freedom of speech. Likewise, criticism is also a practice of freedom of speech. It is not insensible to engage in this discourse, but expands the topic instead. We can only say that this “freedom of speech” is abused, or rather pushed forth in an unwise decision — because it is not just unhelpful to the Filipino masses, but also sidetracks the historical truth and puts those who fought for Filipino liberation into pedestal.
Politicians like Bongbong Marcos might have their own share of “facts” from their stories of childhood in Malacanang, but these only account for his own convention with the attempt to fix the Marcoses’ reputation. Toni Gonzaga, ever so determined with her ideals, looks only into the facts that serve those in power. But what about the relentless heat at the height of the regime where millions of Filipinos united to overthrow the suppressive regime in 1987?
According to Amnesty International, human rights abuses have worsened as the Marcos years progressed. More than 35,000 tortures and 70,000 jailed were documented. Over 3,000 Filipinos are dead. If there’s only one thing we’ve got from the interview is that the People Power Revolution that ousted the Marcoses from history is erased. These facts were disregarded and erased.
The Marcos dictatorship remains as it is — no matter which member of the family testifies against it — a kleptocratic, evil dictatorship that sits on the blood of many broken Filipinos. The sacrifices of our ancestors who fought blood and bone against the regime are now tarnished with dirt, just as the decaying teeth of the wicked who stood motionless before it are whitened. It becomes ahistorical to diminish an important point of Filipino history to insignificance. Toni Gonzaga becomes a miseducator.
Public opinion is not likely to change if the perpetrators continue to perpetuate these beliefs. History is tweaked by these miseducators to put the Filipino people into unending conflict. If these miseducators, and people who put these miseducators in high esteem, are not dismantled and refuted, we are unable to escape this crippling affliction. Unless we put our prejudices aside, we can unite ourselves with each other through compassion by welcoming engaging discourse. With the help of solidarity, all is not hopeless in the relics of broken education.
We’re determined to fight for the truth, but when the truth is long twisted by those who were run past it, we must uncover and look deeply to which and whom it stands for. We cannot erase the history behind a human. To humanize them is to do so.
Though we cannot foresee how this history would be treated in the succeeding periods, we can demolish the destructive, harmful revisions of this political control. We must be inclined to promote a nationalistic, scientific, and mass-oriented education that fights incorrect and biased schooling. The neoliberal education that we are currently under does not exhibit any of these traits — therefore produces perpetrators and misleading educators, without any sense of collectivism.
And so we must unite with the masses and peasants themselves, for they are the one that continue to suffer under this rotten system, and therefore the one with the truthful testaments. They are the true teachers that are humane enough to experience the unmerciful regimes of Philippine history. The experiences of the oppressed will never be fabricated or leveled by any withstanding elite or populist leader that does not know any better but to serve the upper class.
But even masses and peasants can be victims of historical distortion as well, succeeding from the past of an undeveloped system along with decades-long social injustices that heightens the spread of misinformation. And so we must collectively achieve this mobilization that filters and separates false to truth tirelessly, and finally end the deep-rooted distortion of Philippine history.
This paper was written prior Bongbong Marcos’ victory on the Philippine 2022 elections.
