A study by Capstone-Intel Corporation found that the issue of the Marcos dictatorship still generates relatively high negative sentiment online. The study aimed at gauging the public’s perception of the controversial martial rule of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. for its 51st anniversary of declaration on September 21.
An online scan from August 12 to September 12 was done with the use of various social listening tools across all social and non-social media platforms to dive deep into the perceptions, sentiments, and opinions of the public about Martial Law.
The study showed that 86.7% (87%) of Filipinos are still negative about the issue of the “Marcos dictatorship.” However, about 13.3% (13%) believe that Martial Law, in fact, did the Philippines good.
Based on the results of the study, Capstone-Intel saw that “Martial Law is extra relevant to Filipinos today because the son and namesake of the late strongman sits as the current president.”
Among the overwhelming topics online that related to Martial Law was the decision of the Department of Education (DepEd) to detach the late president’s surname from the phrase “Diktadurang Marcos” in textbooks for Grade 6 students. The results also revealed that this was the most engaged topic online, as it garnered an engagement score of 88.4, topping all the stories under this topic. The online reaction breakdown is as follows: 47.1% are Haha reactions, 24.3% are Like reactions, and another 22.7% are Angry reactions. Love, Sad, and Wow all take up the remaining 3.1%, 2.2%, and 0.6% respectively. Similar to the third most engaged story, the dominant reactions are the Haha reactions, which indicate that they are mocking the report, or worse, not taking it seriously, which can be considered a negative reaction to the topic.
The study revealed that many believed the DepEd memo, which is already effective in some educational institutions, is an “insult” to the victims of the atrocities of the Marcos dictatorship.
DepEd, meanwhile, justified that contrary to public perception, the decision to drop the Marcos name in fact came with “no pressure of any kind.” Moreover, the agency said the changes were “aligned” and “organized” by curriculum specialists.
Capstone-Intel believes that the situation “highlights the importance of a strictly factual account of history that tells the nation’s story accurately.”
