As I was driving one of my aunts to lunch in Makati on a cloudy Tuesday morning, she told me about a video clip she had recently seen on YouTube. It was either a local quiz show or the quiz segment of a local noontime show—I honestly can't remember which. A question was asked about the Philippine flag: What do the eight rays of the sun symbolize?

To the surprise of the host, and to the shock of my aunt, no one was able to answer. The contestants, she said, were about my age and older. (For those wondering, the answer is this: The eight rays of the sun represent the first eight provinces that took up arms against Spanish colonial rule—Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Pampanga.)

“Didn’t they learn that in school? We certainly did, back in the ’70s,” my aunt said. “Nakakalungkot naman, hindi na nila alam (How sad that they no longer know this).” And then our conversation moved to the latest SONA and what the President said about EPIRA.

I definitely understand how my aunt felt. What she saw in that video was a reflection of a sad reality when it comes to Filipinos and Philippine history. There is a huge disconnect—or perhaps even a growing disinterest—in learning about the country’s history. For many, history is just another subject. For others, history is good for general knowledge quiz nights and for small talk.

While these may be true about history and its more “practical” purposes, there is so much more to it. History is a nation’s identity. Without the past—as cliché as it may be—there is no present, nor can there be a better future.

It is for this reason that an institution like the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) exists. Part of its mandate—aside from the identification, protection, and preservation of sites inherently connected to the country’s history and heritage—is to support studies of history on both the national and local levels. It does so in tandem with other government agencies through various activities that celebrate and promote appreciation for and the value of history. Currently, through initiatives such as histoEX (short for "history to experience"), the NHCP is encouraging research into local history—that is, the history of towns and provinces.

Sadly, not many Filipinos are aware of the NHCP. Sadder still is the fact that this commission seems to be relegated as a second, maybe even third-class government agency, so to speak. This observation stems from an examination of the NHCP's budget, manpower, portfolio, and day-to-day functions. For starters, it runs some 28 museums all over the Philippines, all of which are free to the public. But that is a topic for another article.

With August celebrated as Philippine History Month, it is good to reexamine the question of history and its role in the lives of Filipinos. Ironically, the easy access to information that the post-digital age has afforded us has also become one of our greatest enemies to true knowledge. Misinformation has become the norm, and history is one of its favorite subjects. A people that does not have a good grasp of its history can easily fall victim to the manipulation of historical facts. Nowadays, all it takes is a convincing video, often generated by artificial intelligence.

So perhaps this Philippine History Month can be a little bit different from its previous iterations. History is not the study of dead people and their deeds, nor is it about knowing the dates of events that shaped our country’s past. History is also not about memorization; rather, it is about appreciation—for our nation’s story, in all its literal and figurative gore and glory. History is the answer to the “How did we get here?” question.

Granted, there are official events organized not just by the NHCP but by other institutions invested in historical preservation. It is, however, not enough to simply just be aware of such activities or to participate in them. A true appreciation of Philippine history begins with a genuine curiosity to learn, and this is lived every day through the choices we make as a Filipino people.

Contrary to how that other cliché goes, it is not history that repeats itself. It is societies and the people within them that fail to learn from history and therefore repeat the mistakes of yesteryears. For a nation to effectively move toward a better future, it needs to live fully in the present, which can only be done with a firm grasp of its past.