DARAGA, Albay – Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday, July 13, urged the Bicol University to strengthen the teaching of its own history, saying educating the youth about the institution's origins is essential to resisting revisionism and preserving the country's cultural diversity.

Teodoro, who served as the guest of honor and speaker during the unveiling of a memorial bust of the late congressman Carlos “Papay” R. Imperial at Bicol University here, said universities have a duty to ensure that the contributions of their founders and other public servants are not forgotten.

“How can you instill a culture if you cannot remember who your distinguished public figures are? To me, it's foundational,” Teodoro said.

Imperial was one of the principal authors and sponsors of Republic Act No. 5521, the 1969 law that established Bicol University. Teodoro described him as a public servant whose vision went beyond creating another state college.

He said every student in the university should understand why the institution was created and the principles that guided its founder.

“Part of the introductory course of any program in Bicol University should be to teach: What are we here for? Why are we here? Who created us? What did he do in public service? What was his vision 50 years ago? We can then align or improve, but never lose the principal purpose of why we are here," he said.

Teodoro warned that failing to pass on such history could allow revisionism to take hold.

“Let us not allow an unacceptable revisionism of our culture to overtake us,” he said.

He also lamented that many important chapters of Philippine history are no longer widely known, despite their significance to the country's identity.

“It is tragic that several events in our history are lost. I never tire of repeating the Battle of Yultong in the 1950s, where 900 Filipinos held off thousands of Chinese Communist volunteers. Two heroes were produced there, Conrado Yap and Jose Artiaga. Nobody knows who they are, yet our armed forces derive inspiration from these people,” he said.

“It is a tragedy that these things are not taught to our young, and we do not want the same to be repeated in the life of Congressman Imperial,” he added.

The defense chief said preserving regional history is also vital to protecting Filipino culture from being diluted by development.

He said each regional university should maintain its own identity and reflect the history and traditions of its community.

"How can you preserve the Albayano culture if it is lost to development?" he said.

He said Bicol University's distinct identity should be anchored on the ideals of its founder. Otherwise, it would be no different from other state universities.

"If not, Bicol University would not be different from any other state university, and we do not want our diversity to be lost," he said.