ABSTRACT
This chapter elucidates the contested historiographic and political contexts within which Tadhana project may be understood simultaneously as a scholarly and as a political project. It examines three contentious areas that informed the historiographic features of Tadhana. First are the pre-historic and pre-colonial origins of peoples and cultures of the Philippines. Second are the historical perspective and the concomitant issues related to periodization. Last are the questions pertaining to the 1896 Revolution that indicate the intensely disputed character of Philippine nationalisms. By locating where Tadhana positions itself within competing standpoints, this chapter clarifies how the scholars tried to generate intellectual capital while pursuing a historiographic agenda and how Marcos managed to use their scholarly output for his political interests.
