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The Philippines has implemented a policy of dormant claims and chosen to disregard the issue of claims over Sabah for over two decades. However, during this period, various provocations have been stirred up by local media practitioners and Filipino politicians to revive claims over Sabah through various media channels. Thus, this historical research was conducted to analyze the current development of the claim by examining the Philippines’ online media reports and argumentative rhetoric used to revive claims on Sabah. This study is a historical research that employs qualitative methods by analyzing primary sources such as newspaper articles, treaty documents, British colonial records, and secondary sources. The scope of the study is focused on analyzing the rhetoric of the Filipino claims over Sabah in online Filipino media especially during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022). The dispute over Sabah has widely disseminated through online media channels and informal platforms such as social media. Media practitioners disseminate various messages and false information regarding the Sabah issue with the aim of revitalizing collective memory and influencing historical perspectives on the claim to Sabah. Particularly during the administrations of Presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand Marcos, Filipino political leaders also encourage the use of specific terminologies to create a narrative emphasizing that Sabah still belongs to the Philippines but has been “seized” by the British and subsequently the Federation of Malaya. This study is significant as it demonstrates that the extensive utilization of social media and easily accessible online newspapers has been fully exploited by Filipino diplomats and top leaders to challenge Malaysia’s sovereignty over Sabah, thereby fueling propaganda aimed at reclaiming Sabah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the divergence in social memory about Ferdinand Marcos' rule into two types of historical narratives following the announcement made by President Duterte in 2016 to bury the Marcos' remains in the Heroes' Cemetery or Libingan ng mga Bayani. The historical narratives were divided into two major school of thoughts which comprised the national narrative that was propagated by President Rodrigo Duterte and the opposition narrative advocated by the victims and relatives of Marcos' human rights violence. The protests and demonstrations took place from 2016 until 2017, before and after the interment of the remains through various forms and methods including street protests and internet activism. Thus, this study shows that the changing of political ideologies has changed the national narrative since the memories of violence during the Marcos' regime are gradually lost from the social memory of the society. The proponent of President Duterte and Marcos' legacy demand justice for the late President Marcos for his contributions to the country, while those who oppose President Duterte as well as the victims of Marcos' cruelty, try to revive the memory about Marcos' spate of violence. Their demands are voiced through their protests over Hero's burial for Marcos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]