The PFF caption says:
Was Marcos a Hero?
Answering itself... it says; No. But he was a soldier.
Explanation:
The short dialogue cum news caption is stressing a propaganda line to denigrate the memory of Marcos, his life as a soldier and as an honorable person. Of course a soldier and a hero are not the same but actually the PFF caption is hiding something.
It did not ask the question; "Marcos a medal of valor awardee; is he worthy to be called a hero?"
heroes are deemed worthy of the name, so why should the article's writer still ask if he were worthy of the name when he can settle for simply asking whether he was a hero or not?
Now the complete idea of the PFF is written below.
The PFF wrote:
"Nearly 200 congressmen have signed the resolution. Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the dictator, has been pressing since February for the burial among dead soldiers of his father, who, he says, was a war hero."
Reply:
Saying that his father is a hero... I think this is another invention of the PFF. Of course if Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has the evidence that his father is a hero... I think there's no need to blow his own trumpet... but let the record shows it!
yet trumpet ferdinand marcos jr did. in fact, the reason why the whole family decided against burying marcos's body permanently elsewhere was because they themselves wanted him buried at the libingan ng mga bayani, all these years lobbying with political friends for support, and all these years insisting, trumpeting, that their family head was a hero. and the family has the evidence, marcos's own account of his war exploits and the medals themselves.
The PFF continues:
This was disputed during the campaign for the 1986 snap election. The dispute had to do with whether Marcos deserved all of the 27 war medals that he claimed he had earned. There were questions about the authenticity of those medals, but Marcos insisted they were authentic. The opposition couldn’t care less—the only thing that was in dispute was whether he deserved them all."
Reply:
The saying goes this way; "a fish is caught by its own mouth." In the same manner as the PFF saying that; "This was disputed [medals of Marcos] during the campaign for the 1986 snap election"... is like the PFF is caught by its own words. The dispute is clear that the Marcos political enemies are only taking the "medals" as the issue to denigrate him. It is my belief that Marcos deserves all the 27 war medals awarded to him.
isn't it that the pff only reported what was going on? naturally, it was politics as usual. it’s not as if we don’t know that political campaigns in our political culture will not always bear the mark of mutual mudslinging. it wasn’t as if marcos and his minions didn’t undertake their own negative tirades against their political enemies. remember the “walang alam†slogan against cory aquino? there was, and there will always be, mutual denigration.
According to Brig. Gen. Restituto Aguilar, historical consultant of the AFP Museum said; “Those who contest the authenticity of his medals should substantiate their allegations. It shall undergo investigations and should follow a processâ€.
spoken like a true functionary. but of course, as a historical consultant he shouldn't take sides. the statement does not in any way contradict either the truth or untruth of the authenticity of the medals.
meantime, when something is questioned, there must be some weakness in that thing. your belief that marcos deserved all his 27 war medals must have some basis, such as your readings and your choice of what to believe in your readings. that’s your right. this is mine: what are the bases for the doubts cast over marcos’s medals? in general, some of the medals were earned or bestowed on him in accordance with his own reports and claims. thus, the medals may be authentic but the reasons for their awarding could be fake. (please note the qualifications of “may be†and “could beâ€.)
two examples stand out. the u.s. army never acknowledged the existence of the guerrilla unit named “ang maharlika†and marcos was never rewarded for his claimed bravery at the battle of bessang pass. consider this:
"Marcos’s daring war adventures first saw print in a 1948 magazine series. The young lawyer supposedly had formed a 9,200-strong guerrilla group called Mga Maharlika (The Nobles) in North Luzon. Unmindful of danger, he led more than 300 skirmishes with the mighty Japanese Imperial Army, for which he was decorated 27 times. Thus did Marcos earn in 1947 a post in the Philippine commission that lobbied with the US for veterans’ benefits. Riding on the daredevil acclaim, he handily won in 1949 a congressional seat.
If there were doubts then about Marcos’s claims, nobody said so aloud. Only in 1982 did war vets begin to murmur, when Marcos, ten years into his military rule, alleged himself to be the real hero of the Battle of Bessang Pass. Overrunning the gorge was vital to the US Army’s pursuit of General Yamashita in the Cordillera Range. Marcos mentioned General Volkmann as confiding that Yamashita almost surrendered to the Maharlika guerrillas. War historians grumbled, for nowhere was Marcos near the battleground."
From GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) , April 08, 2011 12:00 AM
http://www.philstar.comLinkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=37849.0
