A PROFESSOR from the University of Santo Tomas was appointed as the new head of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

Professor Regalado Jose, former archivist and academic staff of the UST Graduate School, will be serving the agency until January 3, 2027.

UST said Jose looks forward to “more awareness of our history and heritage in our daily lives, to shape our values.”

He called on Thomasians to “be keenly aware of UST’s role in shaping Philippine history. This includes, among other things, learning to read historical documents in their original Spanish (in the same way that many like to learn Korean).”

Jose is an authority on Church heritage, publishing extensively on Church architecture and art. He engages in conservation and restoration, working with both government and non-government agencies.

He chaired the National Commission on Culture and the Arts’ Committee on Monuments and Sites (2001-2004) and Committee on Archives (2011-2013) and was Commissioner for Cultural Heritage (2011-2013). In 1999, he received the Cultural Center of the Philippines Centennial Award for the Arts.

The NHCP is the main government agency for history, with authority over official Philippine history. It supports research on Philippine history, maintains a historical data bank, and recognizes places of historical significance.