This Week's Blogs (11/19/26 - 11/26/23)
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    Jose E. Marco: A Life In Faking History
    (11/26/23 - 11/26/23)
    Chapter 0 - General Introduction
    This will be a shorter-than-average historical essay, because not only am I planning it to be a short blog post, I want to focus on the bigger projects I have in mind. And to do that, I need extra space in my brain. Of which I have a limited amount of and use sparingly. Besides, this is not necessarily a simple historical essay, at least for people that know what kind of content I put out. This is an essay on Philippine history exclusively. Specifically, a historical writer named Jose E. Marco.
    Chapter 1 - A Mysterious Life; His Mysterious Work
    We don't necessarily know that much about Jose Marco's life. In fact, we don't even know his birthday. The closest we can get to an accurate birthday is September 19, 1877, according to the Manila Bulletin. And Jose Marco lived from September 19, 1877, to around about October, 1963.
    To cut it short, Jose E. Marco was a writer and historian who other writers and historians absolutely despise. He made forgeries of Philippine historical documents, he "was writing history from the top of his head, and he messed up Philippine historiography," noted Ambeth Ocampo, and supposedly he was writing - or should I say "rewriting - and faking history with his "crude and sloppy handwriting, errors, and poor Spanish."
    From 1918 to 1963, 45 years, he worked as a "historian" by peddling and donating his manuscripts supposedly discovered by himself - forged by himself, to be exact - to scholars and libraries, and especially the National Library of the Philippines.
    Even his education is a bit odd. Neither the Ateneo de Manila nor the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas said that he went to their schools as Marco stated. Curiously enough, it was the National Library of the Philippines who stated that he was educated "in American schools."
    After his American education, Marco stated that he was - and probably was, in truth - a: teacher from 1903 to 1910; a postmaster from 1911 to 1920; the secretary of a lending library in 1914; and an interpreter as well as a clerk of court from 1920 to 1929. Aside from being a "historian."
    Out of all of his works, his greatest were these two works: the Code of Kalantiaw; and La Loba Negra by Father Jose Burgos, one of the priests from the trio GomBurZa, who were executed for their views by the monarchical Spanish.
    He continued to produce fake historical works he forged and made up from the top of his head until his death in 1963. He made hundreds of forgeries and fakes, and it's been reported that he probably made more than 50 fake works of Jose Burgos. Though he never reached far-and-wide and international infamy and notoriety, in his life and after, he influenced and still continues to influence the country to this day.
    Chapter 2 - The Intention For "Necessary Fictions"
    Ambeth Ocampo proposed that - in his eyes - he did this probably not just for money. He did make a bit of money committing forgery, faking and writing history with his imagination, and just annoying historians generally. But he proposed that he was the kind of man who would look him in the eye and justify what he did. And that he would probably say "look, you wanted pre-Spanish proof of Philippine civilization and law. You had none. So I created the Code of Kalantiaw for you. In the 1950's, you wanted a national hero who was someone other than Jose Rizal, maybe even better. So I made Jose Burgos into a hero for you. Overall, you wanted information that wasn't in your history books yet; that historians even of the highest caliber, acuity, and competence have yet to discover - so I gave that to you. I'm helping you develop not just history - and will inspire people to discover actual history themselves - as well as our culture, but the minds of our nation. Our republic. I'm giving the people a national identity; things to believe in; things to be proud of. So if you want to be Filipino and you want to be a nationalist, you will say that what I'm doing is right. What I'm saying is right. That the history I'm giving you is right."
    I think what Ambeth Ocampo means is that - and Ambeth Ocampo stated about this - is that Marco probably believed that what he was doing was right, because what he was doing would be considered and classified as "necessary fictions." Stories that are not necessarily true, but instead of being debunked, they are being repeated again and again to the new generations as they come by. When the new generation hears stories from the old, and they themselves become the old, they will do what their parents did to them, and do that to their children. And those children will do that to their children. So on and so forth. Because as much as we'd like to believe that it's not true, and this is my opinion by the way, I believe that necessary fictions are everywhere. They roam the streets and echo through the ages. Stories are much more entertaining if they're not entirely true. Very few are interested in what actually happened in the world, and a lot enjoy the comforting aesthetic of fiction. Why do you think that fiction is a popular genre and category in bookstores, online and offline? And why not historical books? It makes sense. That's what I'm trying to convey, it makes sense. And I'm not absolutely convinced that the younger generation repeat what their parents have done to them, and do that to their children, because of intransigence. Only recalcitrance. If people know the truth of a matter: the reality; the real object behind a masquerade mask - they are silent and not-confident. The beginners of guitar are confident and flamboyant. The experts are silent and slam themselves in the face if they make a mistake. If the people are inclined to irreality and fiction, the people will doom themselves to disaster. If the people are inclined to see the real world as how it is, and are against fiction, theoretically - from a philosophical standpoint - it would be the more prosperous-sounding and obvious action. Right? No, it will lead people to doom themselves to disaster as well.
    Chapter 3 - My Thoughts on Necessary Fictions, and the General Epilogue
    Which is why, as much as I regret that he didn't retire himself to being a political opinion writer at a newspaper during his life or something, and as much as he was a fraud and a liar, a forger and a fausse-info historical writer, I disagree with the notion that Jose E. Marco was a bad example for children's mothers to point to as an example of why you should never be a liar. I disagree with the historians who are colorless, bland, not full of life, hackney their expressions and work, and who hate Marco with a passion exclusively because he was a historical documents forger. I agree with Ambeth Ocampo's opinion that implies that as much as he was a forger, and a liar, a fibber, and someone who probably shouldn't be anywhere near a historical essay writer's desk, he would've been a great fiction writer; his necessary fictions had intentions that were - in my opinion - good. For the development of a people, and a country, and the country and people's identity as a whole, you need stories. History. Fictions to tell the curious children. History to tell the proud nationalists who want nothing more than to make this country a grand republic, who is for peace, and for prosperity, for its people and the people's prosperity. Why do people like Shakespeare then if some of his stories were basically retellings of stories that are fictional, but presented as 'based in truth?' Why do people like Shakespeare's Histories when not every single thing about them is historically accurate? Shakespeare stole stories, actually. Wrote them in his own style. It's just that he was good to the point where people remember his triumphs in writing, but not his crimes. And this is not taking into account that copyright laws were non-existent back then. Just have to point that out. For historical purposes.
    People remember Columbus discovering America, but not Columbus' con-art. People love folk tales about the werewolf, vampires, and Bigfoot. None of those exist. If you want 'pure accuracy,' go read an engineering book or something. These stories are necessary - in my opinion - not because they're good, but rather for the greater good. If you believed in bullshit, that's in you. That's your fault. At least you know from experience that bullshit exists. I just know that it kind of has to exist. In a very specific way.
    The Code of Kalantiaw? People still believe it to be the oldest proof of Philippine civilization, and proof of pre-Spanish civilization. Even lawyers believe it. Some who see that it's fake are one of two people: they are either against misinformation and wish for the idea of this law to be eradicated; or they do nothing, because people will continue to believe in it, because it gives them something to believe. An identity.
    Sources:
    - https://buglas-writers.medium.com/jose-e-marco-fraud-and-trickster-1fffb41e44c
    - https://youtu.be/SzNwl4ugNNI?si=2_IdGoPHkG_8VqwT
    - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhA0GVi_N4E
    - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XSx72gF0NQ&pp=ygUXc2hha2VzcGVhcmUgZG9jdW1lbnRhcnk%3D
    - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe9_FAANig8
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