Bongbong Marcos' call to revise books is an attempt at historical revisionism —LP exec

A Liberal Party executive on Saturday slammed former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. for his call to revise history books, saying that this was an attempt at historical revisionism.

“This is a clear move at historical revisionism and another desperate attempt by the Marcoses to erase the memory of the horrors of Martial Law and absolve the sins of their father,” Erin Tañada, vice president for external affairs of the Liberal Party, said in a statement.

Marcos on Friday said history textbooks should be revised as recent court victories proved criminal accusations against them were false.

The Sandiganbayan in December dismissed a P200-billion forfeiture case against the Marcos family due to lack of evidence.

The anti-graft court also junked in August a P102-billion ill-gotten wealth case against Ferdinand Marcos and wife Imelda and 11 of their cronies due to the prosecution's failure to present evidence.

In September, the Sandiganbayan affirmed the dismissal of an ill-gotten wealth case against the heirs of Luis Yulo, identified as one of Marcos' cronies, and the family's YKR Corporation involving Busuanga Properties in Palawan—the property that is the subject of the still pending ill-gotten wealth case numbered Civil Case 0024 against the late President Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies.

In October, the Sandiganbayan also dismissed a P1.052 billion ill-gotten wealth case against Bienvenido Tantoco, Sr., the Marcos couple, among others, in connection with the Tantoco clan's 11 real estate properties located in the Philippines, Hawaii and Rome; shares of stocks in 19 companies; cash on hand and in bank; jewelry; notes, loans and mortgages receivable; motor vehicles and three Cessna aircraft.

Also in October, the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division threw out a P267-million ill-gotten case against former President  Marcos and his wife Imelda and their cronies namely President Fe Roa Gimenez and her husband, Ignacio Gimenez, Vilma Bautista and her husband, Gregorio, among others, due to insufficiency of evidence.

“Nais ng mga Marcos na ibaon na lang sa limot ang mga pag-abusong nangyari noong panahon ng diktadurya kung saan libu-libong Pilipino ang pinatay at pinahirapan at bilyung-bilyong piso mula sa kaban ng bayan ang nakulimbat,” Tañada added.

He further said the Marcos family "cannot hide the atrocities, human rights violations, and corruption" during the Martial Law era of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Tañada cited Amnesty International which said that some 70,000 people were arrested while 32,000 were tortured and over 3,200 were killed from 1972 to 1981.

Meanwhile, a study by the World Bank-UN Office said Ferdinand Marcos "is estimated to have siphoned off between $5 and $10 billion."

Tañada called on the public to speak up against  Marcos' alleged attempt to "expunge the truth and erase the memory of their sins to the country."

“We must all side with and fight for the truth. We must not let the lies being propagated by the Marcoses to prevail,” he said. —Joahna Lei Casilao/KG, GMA News