Ambeth Raymundo OcampoOLKGOROAL (born August 13, 1961)[1] is a Filipino public historian, academic, cultural administrator, journalist, author, and independent curator.[2] He is best known for his definitive writings about Philippines' national hero
José Rizal and on topics in Philippine history and Philippine art through Looking Back, his bi-weekly editorial page column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.[3]
Ocampo was born in Manila on August 13, 1961 to parents Belen Ocampo (
née Raymundo), a jeweler, and Lamberto Un Ocampo, a civil engineer.[6] He received his primary and secondary education at the Basic Education Department of
Ateneo de Manila University. He subsequently obtained his undergraduate and masteral degrees in Philippine Studies from the
De La Salle University in 1989 and 1991.[7] His undergraduate thesis Food in Pampango Culture centered on
Kapampangan cuisine, while his masteral thesis centered on his recovery of the third unfinished novel of
José Rizal, Makamisa during his term as a consultant to the
National Library of the Philippines later published as Makamisa: The Search for Rizal's Third Novel in 1992.[8][9]
Ocampo began writing for Weekend Magazine, the Sunday supplement of the Philippine Daily Express in 1985 and subsequently joined its editorial staff as an associate editor. His column Looking Back first appeared in the Philippine Daily Globe from 1987 to 1990, and compilations of these columns saw new life as his two bestselling books; namely, the Looking Back series and Rizal Without the Overcoat that was awarded the
National Book Award for essay in 1990. At the invitation of
Letty Jimenez Magsanoc and Eugenia D. Apostol, Ocampo's Daily Globe column moved to the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 1990, where it appears twice weekly on the Opinion-Editorial page.[12]
Since 1986, Ocampo has published more than 35 books and other publications that have consisted of compilations of his various essays, and writings on Philippine history, arts, and culture. Most of his published works have focused on the life and works of the Philippine nationalist and martyr,
Jose Rizal with Rizal Without the Overcoat going into six editions since its first publication in 1990. He has also annotated the second edition of Rizal in Saga: A Life for Student Fans written by the late National Artist
Nick Joaquin that includes newly uncovered research material collated by Ocampo and photographs from his private collection in 2021.[3]
Ocampo has also written on the history of
Filipino cuisine that sprung from his undergraduate thesis Food in Pampango Culture published in 1989.[13] In 2001, he also co-authored an essay Grande Cuisine in the Philippines with Philippine food historian and academic
Doreen Fernandez that was subsequently published on an issue of the British food academic journal Petits Propos Culinaires.[14]
In addition, he has published monographs on other historical and cultural figures in Philippine history, including musical composer
Nicanor Abelardo, historian
Teodoro Agoncillo and
Teodora Alonso, the mother of Rizal, amongst others.[15][16][17]
When Ocampo was appointed chairman of the National Historical Institute (present-day
National Historical Commission of the Philippines) in 2002 and later elected chair of the
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 2005, then-President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared that she was an ardent reader of his newspaper column, commending his writings because he "makes history so approachable." Some academics have critiqued Ocampo for his
populist approach to historiography. In response, Ocampo has since released two compilations of his public lectures, Meaning and History focused on
Jose Rizal and Bones of Contention on
Andres Bonifacio both published in 2001, complete with citations and footnotes. Nevertheless, Ocampo is considered one of the most prominent Philippine historians.[23]
In recent years, he has written numerous articles on the diaries of the late former Philippine President and dictator
Ferdinand Marcos compiling all known extant entries collated from six different sources, and annotating them. The diaries have yet to be published in entirety.[23] In 2021, his fifteenth compilation of his columns of his Looking Back series written based on the diaries of Marcos and the legacies of the
martial law regime titled Martial Law was published becoming his first publication on Philippine contemporary history.[24]
In 2022, Ocampo became the subject of a massive
troll attack from social media influencers with ties to President
Bongbong Marcos after commenting on the controversial remarks of actress
Ella Cruz who described Philippine history as "tsismis" (gossip), calling it "filtered" and "biased", that drew widespread condemnation on social media.[25][26] In response, academic circles composed of leading Philippine historians and academics led by
National Artist for LiteratureVirgilio S. Almario,
Xiao Chua, Francis Gealogo and others denounced the attack on Ocampo and issued messages in support of the historian due to the ongoing attempts of
historical distortion on martial law regime of the late dictator.[25][27][28][29]
Ocampo has also written several essays and monographs on Philippine art, beginning with his first book on Philippine modern impressionist painter Emilio Aguilar Cruz titled The Paintings of E. Aguilar Cruz published in 1986. In 2019, a new version of the said book was revised, expanded, and published as E. Aguilar Cruz: The Writer as Painter.[31][32]
He has also written or contributed publications on the biography and art of several contemporary artists, including those of Spanish-Philippine artist
Fernando Zóbel, visual artist and fashion designer Mark Lewis Lim Higgins and Randalf Dilla.[38][39][40]
As an art historian, Ocampo has written several critiques on the controversies surrounding the Philippine art market. In 1985, in an essay titled Are these fake Rizal drawings?, he questioned the authenticity of drawings that were purportedly done by Rizal that were used as visual aids in the noted biography of the Philippine nationalist: José Rizal: Filipino Doctor and Patriot by José Baron Fernandez.[41] The issue later resurfaced in 1990, when Ocampo engaged in a heated word war with former Philippine politician
Manuel Morato who published these drawings in the said book.[12]
Consequently, Ocampo has also conducted extensive research on Philippine antiquities including
Christian art, Southeast Asian ceramics, maps, and furniture. Several of his essays were compiled in the ninth compilation of his Looking Back series titled Demonyo Tables: History in Artifacts published in 2015.[44][45][46]
Since 2011, Ocampo has delivered public lectures on Philippine history and culture primarily at the
Ayala Museum known as the History Comes Alive series to sold-out crowds.[30]
Government service
Cultural administrator
From 1987 until 1992, Ocampo served as a consultant to the
National Library of the Philippines (NLP) with a concurrent capacity as a member of the National Committee on Libraries and Information Services (NCLIS) and the National Committee on Monuments and Sites (NCMS) under the Presidential Commission on Culture and the Arts (the present-day
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)). During his term at the National Library, he recovered the unpublished manuscripts of Rizal's unfinished novel Makamisa in 1987 and later worked on the bibliographic catalog of papers, writings and documents related to Rizal held in the vault of the National Library.[47][48]
In 1999, Ocampo was appointed board member of the National Historical Institute (present-day
National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)) by President
Joseph Estrada. Subsequently, in 2002, he was appointed chairman by President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. During his term as its chairman, Ocampo weathered criticism over attempts to enforce provisions of the existing Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines by reminding artists singing the
Philippine national anthem during international boxing matches of the proper way to sing the anthem, and his controversial decision to paint the Rizal clan house green – to remind Filipinos that the word "Rizal" came from "ricial" meaning a green field ready for harvest.[49]
From 2002 to 2011, Ocampo served as a member of the Numismatic Committee of the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that deliberated on the redesign of banknotes and coins in the Philippines. Ocampo and other members of the Numismatic Committee deliberated on the designs of the
New Generation Currency Series including the redesign of the
five hundred-peso banknotes which featured the portraits of Philippine opposition leader
Benigno Aquino Jr. and his wife, President
Corazon Aquino following national clamor after the
death and funeral of the late President in 2009.[50]
Ocampo has written extensively on the history of the Philippine peso in a series of articles, particularly on the controversies surrounding currency design and its political context.[51] In 2020, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas published Ocampo's Yaman: The History and Heritage in Philippine Money, a
coffee table book on the numismatic collection of the Philippine central bank.[52]
In academia
Ocampo is Horacio de la Costa Professor in History and the Humanities at the Ateneo de Manila University. He was former Chairman of the Department of History, School of Social Sciences in the
Ateneo de Manila University. He is Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of Asian Cultures, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan and Research Associate, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. He previously served as Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, College of Arts and Letters,
University of the Philippines Diliman from 1989 until 2010 and served on the Board of Regents of the
Universidad de Manila (formerly City College of Manila), where he served as its president and vice president for academic affairs from 1996 to 1998. He has also held previous appointments at the
De La Salle University,
Far Eastern University, and
San Beda College.[53] He has previously held endowed
professorial chairs at the City College of Manila, now Unibersidad ng Maynila and the
Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
He has held appointments as visiting research fellow in
Kyoto University, and
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. As Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan and
Sophia University, Tokyo, where he taught courses on Philippine history and culture.
A collector of Filipiniana, his extensive library and collection is divided between his home in
Makati; his office at the Department of History at Ateneo de Manila University[54] and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies Library in
Kyoto University.[55]
Part of his collection of Philippine Art was bequeathed to the
Ateneo Art Gallery with one of its wings named in his honor as the Ambeth R. Ocampo Gallery.
Honors, awards, and decorations
As an outstanding historian and intellectual, Dr. Ambeth R. Ocampo has made a great contribution to academic, cultural, and social progress in the Philippines, through his university teaching, and his writing for newspapers and magazines, and his service in historic and cultural administration. His clear and accessible explanations of the wider global context in which the country developed during the period of the Spanish and American colonial regimes have helped promote a more open sense of nationalism, and facilitated the advancement of international exchanges both with Asia and with the West.
Ocampo has won three
National Book Awards in these categories: Essay, Literary History, and Bibliography. He was awarded the Premio Manuel Bernabe from the Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Espana en Filipinas and a Premio Quijano de Manila from the
Instituto Cervantes Manila. He was elected National Fellow for Essay by the University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center (1995–1996).
He has been conferred the rank of Knight Grand Officer (K.G.O.R.) of the Order of the
Knights of Rizal in December 2018, and
Order of Civil Merit with the rank of Encomienda (Commander) conferred by the
Kingdom of Spain in December 2007.
In June 2008, he was conferred the rank of Officier in the
Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the Republic of France for his contributions to the arts and letters as a writer, academic, and cultural administrator, and for his support of cultural exchanges between the Philippines and France.[57]
In recognition of his work in cultural administration and his contributions to Philippine history, the
Polytechnic University of the Philippines[58] conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Public Administration, honoris causa, in December 2008.[59]
In 2010, he was conferred one of the highest civilian awards of the Philippines, the
Order of Lakandula with the rank of Bayani for his contributions in cultural administration, the popularization of Philippine history, and for having served as chairman of the National Historical Institute (present-day, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) from 2002 to 2010, and concurrent chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) from 2005 until 2007 without compensation.[60][61]
In December 2013, during the state visit of President
Benigno Aquino III to Tokyo, Ocampo was conferred the
Presidential Medal of Merit whose citation reads, "for his achievements as a scholar, teacher, and in recognition of his writings through which he popularized Philippine history, art and culture thus bringing these aspects of our national identity closer to the people."[62]
In September 2016, Ocampo was awarded the prestigious
Fukuoka Prize (Academic) for his contributions to Philippine history and culture making him the fifth Filipino to be so honored with the recognition.[23]
A Calendar of Rizaliana in the Vault of the Philippine National Library (1993)[a]
Bonifacio's Bolo (1995)
Teodora Alonso (1995)
Talking History: Conversations with Teodoro A. Agoncillo (1995)[b]
Mabini's Ghost (1995)
Luna's Moustache (1997)
Three Rizal Lectures (1997)
The Centennial Countdown (1998)
R. Galicano (2000) (co-authored with Rod. Paras-Perez)
Meaning and History: The Rizal Lectures (2001)
Bones of Contention: The Bonifacio Lectures (2001)
Zero-In: Private Art, Public Lives (2002) (co-authored with
Marian Pastor Roces and Leovino Ma. Garcia)
Rizal the Scientist: Proceedings of a Seminar in the Commemoration of the Rizal Centennial (1896) June 20, 1997 (2002) (co-editor with
Andrew Gonzalez)
Arturo Luz: Sculptures (2004)
60 Years and Bon Vivant: Philippine-French Relations (2008) (as editor)
101 Stories of the Philippine Revolution (2008)
Philippines - Mexico Historical Relations: Proceedings of the Symposium held at the National Museum of the Philippines on November 16–17, 2006 (2010) (as editor)
Looking Back: Looking Back 1 (2010)
Dirty Dancing: Looking Back 2 (2010)
Death by Garrote: Looking Back 3 (2010)
Chulalongkorn's Elephants: The Philippines in Asian History: Looking Back 4 (2011)
The Diorama Experience of Philippine History (2012) (co-authored with Jesus T. Peralta and Felice Noelle Rodriguez)
Rizal's Teeth, Bonifacio's Bones: Looking Back 5 (2012)
Prehistoric Philippines: Looking Back 6 (2012)
Storm Chasers: Looking Back 7 (2014)
Virgin of Balintawak: Looking Back 8 (2014)
The Jim and Reed Pfeufer Collection: A Four-Decade Friendship with Fernando Zóbel (2015) (co-authored with John Seed)
Demonyo Tables: History in Artifacts: Looking Back 9 (2015)
Two Lunas, Two Mabinis: Looking Back 10 (2015)
History and Heritage of the
Kudan: The Official Residence of the Philippine Ambassador of Japan (2015)
More Hispanic Than We Admit: Insights into Philippine Cultural History (2008) (edited by Isaac Donoso)
A Passage to Asia: 25 Centuries of Exchange between Asia and Europe (2010) (edited by Jan van Alphen)
Connecting Flights: Filipinos Write from Elsewhere (2010) (edited by Ruel S. De Vera)
Historical Agencies: National Hysterical Institute (2010, Historical Bulletin)[69]
Culture, Power and Practices: The Globalization of Culture and its Implications for Asian Regional Transformations - the work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows (2011)
Entre España y Filipinas: José Rizal, Escritor (2011)
Drugs and Philippine Society (2021) (edited by Gideon Lasco)
50 Years of Golden Friendship: Philippines-Singapore (2021) (edited by Joseph del Mundo Yap)
E. Aguilar Cruz: Stories and Sketches Drawn from Memory (2022) (edited by Larry J. Cruz)
A Death Foretold: The Ninoy Aquino Assassination (2023) (edited by Alfred A. Yuson, Susan Lara, Mara Cepeda, An Mercado-Alcantara, Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta and Sarge Katigbak-Lacuesta)
^
abJoaquin, Nick (2021), Ocampo, Ambeth R. (ed.), Rizal in Saga: A Life for Student Fans (Second ed.), Manila: Milflores Publishing, Inc.,
ISBN9789718281123
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (1987). Ang Buhay at Musika ni Maestro Nicanor Abelardo. Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (2011). Talking History: Conversations with Teodoro Andal Agoncillo (Second ed.). Manila: University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.
ISBN9789715065948.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R., ed. (2008). 60 Years and Bon Vivant!:Philippine-French Relations (First ed.). Makati City: ArtPostAsia, Inc.
ISBN978-971-93896-8-2.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (2015). History and Heritage of the Kudan: The Official Residence of the Philippine Ambassador of Japan (First ed.). Makati: ArtPostAsia, Inc.
ISBN978-971-057931-0.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (2021). Del Mar Yap, Joseph (ed.). 50 Years of Golden Friendship: Philippines-Singapore. Singapore: Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Singapore.
^Ocampo, Ambeth; Ramos, Ige; Mička, Dalibor, eds. (2022). Kaibigan-Přátelé: Czech-Philippine Cultural and Diplomatic Dialogue. Philippines: Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (1988). Tolentino: Iskultor ng Mga Bayani. Manila: Museo ng Malacañang.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (1990). The Juan Luna Collection: A Bequest to the Filipino People. Manila: Far East Bank and Trust Company.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (2017). Images of Nation: Arturo Luz – First Light. Makati City: Ayala Foundation, Inc. Ateneo Art Gallery & Vibal Foundation, Inc.
ISBN9789719707042.
^Elmer Borlongan: An Ordinary Man, An Extraordinary Life. San Antonio, Zambales: Sayong's Pasilyo Country Living and Bookstore. 2019.
ISBN978-621-96048-1-9.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R.; Seed, John (2015). The Jim and Reed Pfeufer Collection: A Four-Decade Friendship with Fernando Zóbel. Makati City: Leon Gallery Fine Art and Antiques.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R.; Samson, Ditas R.; Henkel, David A. (2019). Gold in Our Veins: Mark Lewis Lim Higgins. Makati City: Ayala Foundation, Inc.
ISBN9786218028203.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (2015). Demonyo Tables: History in Artifacts: Looking Back 9 (First ed.). Mandaluyong: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
ISBN9789712731617.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (2010). Van Alphen, Jan (ed.). A Passage to Asia: 25 Centuries of Exchange between Asia and Europe. Brussels:
BOZAR.
ISBN9789085865650.
^Casal, Gabriel; Ocampo, Ignacio Maria (1994). Morello, Giovanni (ed.). 2000 Years of Vatican Treasures: "...And They Will Comeback Afar". Vatican City:
Musei Vaticani and Electa Milan.
ISBN9788843550609.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (1992). Makamisa: The Search for Rizal's Third Novel (First ed.). Pasig: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
ISBN9712702766.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (1993). A Calendar of Rizaliana in the Vault of the Philippine National Library (First ed.). Pasig: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
ISBN9712702944.
^Culture, Power and Practices: The Globalization of Culture and its implications for Asian regional transformations: the work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows. Bangkok: The Nippon Foundation. 2013.
ISBN9786214202140.
^Ocampo, Ambeth; Delgado-Ringor, Annie (1987). "A Home to the Stars". Registrar. 7. Manila: The Manila Hotel: 36–41.
^Ocampo, O.S.B., Ignacio Maria, ed. (1994). "In the Service of Filipino Culture: A Festschrift for Very Rev. Bernardo Ma. Perez, O.S.B.". Scientia (March 1994). Manila: San Beda College.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R. (1998). "Rizal's Morga and Views of Philippine History". Philippine Studies. 46 (Second Quarter 1998). Manila: Ateneo de Manila University: 184–215.
^Ocampo, Ambeth R.; Bernas, Joaquin G.; Soliven, Maximo (2007). "Opinion Writers: Down from the Hill, Through the Valleys, Into the Plains". Budhi. 11 (2 & 3). Manila: Ateneo de Manila University.