MANILA — Private schools have some leeway on Department of Education policies, including a proposal to rename the topic on the Martial Law period from "Diktadurang Marcos" to just "Diktadura" in the Grade 6 curriculum, an industry group said.

Lawyer Kristine Carmina Manaog, legal counsel for the Coordinating Council of Private Education Associations (COCOPEA), said on Tuesday that private schools are subject to the "reasonable regulation and supervision of DepEd" but can go beyond the standard curriculum.

"Although, of course, we follow the minimum prescribed curriculum or standards ng DepEd, meron tayong certain flexibility or discretion to offer additional subjects, additional topics...na not necessarily required or offered to public schools," she told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

"That is one way for our private schools to ensure na ang Philippine history is properly taught sa ating students."

• DepEd confirms proposal to change 'Diktadurang Marcos' in curriculum

DEPED: REVISION STILL A PROPOSAL

DepEd, which came under fire over the weekend after a photo of a letter on the directive to change the title of the topic, said Monday that the change is still just a proposal.

Director Jocelyn Andaya of the DepEd Bureau of Curriculum Development also said in an online briefing that the change was meant to highlight the theme of the lesson.

Andaya said mention of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who declared Martial Law in 1972, would be inevitable in discussing human rights violations and the loss of democratic institutions during that time.

"We maintain what the private schools think that is necessary or appropriate sa kanilang curriculum. If that particular detail needs to be retained, then we will follow kung ano yung ina-adopt na subject o curriculum ng private school," Manaog said.

• No 'Marcos dictatorship?' Lawmaker slams move to revise textbooks

'DISSERVICE TO MARTIAL LAW'S VICTIMS'

The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND) over the weekend called the DepEd proposal "a clear strategy of the current administration to rehabilitate the dark history of the Marcos family."

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers meanwhile called it "a disservice to the countless victims of [Marcos Sr.'s] dictatorship and an affront to the pursuit of historical accuracy and truth."

In her briefing on Monday, DepEd Director Andaya said that it is "important also for teachers to present differing and opposing perspectives and make them co-exist without erasing the other's truth."

Marcos Jr.'s election in 2022 raised concerns of attempts to "distort" the history of his father's presidency and later dictatorship, which was marked by rights abuses and corruption, but which he and his family and supporters also characterize as golden years for the Philippines.

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