The UP Third World Studies Center (TWSC) invites the public to a free lecture titled “𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐈𝐬: 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.” Researchers Arrianne Fajardo and Aidrielle Raymundo (UP TWSC), Asst. Prof. Larah del Mundo (UP Department of History), and Prof. Joseph Palis (UP Department of Geography) will speak at the event.

𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: September 23, 2025
𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄: 10:00am to 12:00nn
𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄: Pilar Herrera Hall, Palma Hall, University of the Philippines Diliman

A revolt notwithstanding, the Marcoses have never left us—and may never will. This forum explores an answer to why this is so. An answer that is more rooted in catching a glimpse of displays and signages than in the brute intramurals of elite politics; an answer found in naming and placemaking, in how power alters memory to erase vestiges of its corrupt history.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘞𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘌𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩? 𝘈𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘮 is a project of the Marcos Regime Research of the UP Third World Studies Center. It catalogs Marcos sites—those that mention, in celebratory or “neutral” terms, the supposed excellence and benevolence of the Marcoses—and by extension, the Romualdezes—during their conjugal regime. Through this inventory, we hope to render in bold relief the network of sites where life for almost the past half-century must every day reckon with what the Marcoses have left behind.

So far, we have identified over 250 Marcos sites. Across Luzon and the provinces of Leyte and Samar, we have visited nearly 150 of these: museums, parks, government buildings, houses of worship, barangays, schools, historical markers, and even a stadium and an airport.

To ground the lecture on the publicized “private spaces” of the Marcoses and how these contribute to their image-making, we revisit two mansions that the conjugal dictators built at the height of their power: the Malacañang of the North in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, and the Santo Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum in Tacloban, Leyte.

An ArcGIS StoryMaps webpage detailing the sites will be launched to the public on the day of the forum.