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The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and
cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...
through research,
dissemination To disseminate (from Latin, lat. ''disseminare'' "scattering seeds"), in the field of communication, is to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience. Meaning Dissemination takes on the theory of the traditional ...
, conservation, sites management and heraldry works." As such, it "aims to inculcate awareness and appreciation of the noble deeds and ideals of our heroes and other illustrious Filipinos, to instill pride in the
Filipino people Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...
and to rekindle the Filipino spirit through the lessons of history."


History

While the current form of the NHCP was established in 1972 as part of the reorganization of government after President
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
' declaration of martial law, its roots can be traced back to 1933 when the American colonial
Insular Government The Philippine Insular GovernmentThis form of the name appeared in the titles of US Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See Costas v. Government of the Philippine Islands, 221 U.S. 623, 1911. The Administrative Code of the Phil ...
first established the Philippine Historical Research and Markers Committee (PHRMC).


Philippine Historical Research and Markers Committee (1933)

The Philippine Historical Research and Markers Committee was created by U.S. Governor General
Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...
, by virtue of Executive Order 451, to identify and
mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...
"historic antiquities" first in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, then throughout the Philippines, as a first step towards their preservation. The Church of San Agustin,
Fort Santiago Fort Santiago (; ), built in 1571, is a citadel or castle built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi for the newly established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is located in Intramuros, the walled ci ...
, Plaza McKinley, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Manila, San Sebastian Church, Concordia College,
Manila Railroad Company The Manila Railroad Company (MRR) was a Filipino state-owned enterprise responsible for the management and operation of rail transport in the island of Luzon. It was originally established by an English people, Englishman named Edmund Sykes as t ...
, Dr. Lorenzo Negrao, and
University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...
(Intramuros site) were among the first structures to be granted
historical markers A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...
. The installation of markers was first limited to identify antiquities in Manila. However, the commission's mandate was later expanded to cover the whole of the Philippines. Many markers were destroyed or lost due to
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, along with the structures they represent, and many have been replaced by post-war markers. This first committee was composed of American journalist Walter Robb who served as chair; American Anthropologist H. Otley Beyer - who would later be known as the father of Philippine Anthropology; Spanish Jesuit Fr. Miguel Selga, SJ; Dean Edward Hyde from the
University of the Philippines College of Engineering The University of the Philippines Diliman College of Engineering is a degree-granting unit of the University of the Philippines Diliman specializing in chemical, civil, computer, electrical, electronic, geodetic, industrial, materials, mech ...
; and Filipinos
Jaime C. de Veyra Jaime Carlos de Veyra y Díaz (November 4, 1873 – March 7, 1963) was a Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Philippine Islands from 1917 to 1923 and Governor of Leyte from 1906 to 1907. Early life He was bor ...
,
Conrado Benitez Conrado Francia Benitez (November 26, 1889 – January 4, 1971) was a Filipino statesman, writer, and educator. He founded the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and was one of the drafters of the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines.Flavie ...
, and Eulogio Balan Rodriguez.


Philippines Historical Committee (1935)

With the establishment of the
Philippine Commonwealth The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the Tydings–McDuffie Act to replace the Insular Government of the Phi ...
in 1935, President
Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...
signed Executive Order No. 91 in 1937, creating the Philippines Historical Committee (PHC), which took over the functions as its predecessor, as well as the tasks of repairing government-owned antiquities and acquiring antiquities owned by private individuals. While there are extant historical markers issued in 1941 (e.g.
Magellan's Cross Magellan's Cross Pavilion is a stone kiosk in Cebu City, Philippines. The structure is situated on Plaza Sugbo beside the Basilica del Santo Niño. It houses a Christian cross that was planted by explorers of the Spanish expedition of the firs ...
,
Basilica del Santo Niño The , alternatively known as the Minor Basilica of the Holy Child or simply Santo Niño Basilica, is a minor basilica in Cebu City in the Philippines that was founded in 1565 by Fray Andrés de Urdaneta and Fray Diego de Herrera. It is the olde ...
, First shot of the Philippine-American War,
Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran (), also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. I ...
, & Malacañan Palace), there are no known records of the activities of the committee during the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...
during World War II, as the Committee closed in protest. In the postwar reconstruction years the PHC was busy as there was a government interest in "the reconstruction of the past as a means to form nationhood." Reconstituted six months after
Philippine independence The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
in 1946, the committee was first placed under the Office of the President, and then transferred to the Department of Education. During this time, it installed over 400 historical markers all over the archipelago; named and renamed various streets, plazas, towns and other public places; and acquired places and relics of heroes. As the nation rebuilt itself, a number of other historical commissions were also created by law to commemorate the birth centennials of various Philippine heroes of the late 19th century. All of these commissions were eventually merged into one National Heroes Commission created in 1963.


National Historical Commission (1965)

In July 1965, Congress passed Republic Act No. 4368 that created the National Historical Commission (NHC) and effectively abolished the Philippine Historical Committee and the National Heroes Commission whose functions were delegated to the NHC. Among the functions of the NHC are the following: to publish or cause to have written or published the works of our national heroes and other great and good Filipinos; to compile from various sources here and abroad data on Philippine history and prepare and publish there from source books on Philippine history; to identify, designate and approximately mark historic places in the Philippines and to cause the construction or reconstruction and to maintain and care for national monuments, shrines and historic markers that have been erected; to take charge of all historical activities or projects not otherwise undertaken by any entity of the government; to gather data on historical dates, personages, events, and documents presented for evaluation, and to acquire through purchase, donation, exchange or otherwise, important historical documents and materials; and to encourage researches in Philippine history and the writing and publication of textbooks on the subject, the research and writing of biographies of heroes, accounts of historical events, translations of important scholarly works of Filipinos and foreigners by providing appropriate or adequate incentives.


National Historical Institute (1972)

In 1972, President
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
' declaration of
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
resulted in a reorganization of government and the renaming of the NHC as the National Historical Institute.


National Historical Commission of the Philippines (2010)

On May 12, 2010, President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest-serving president ...
signed Republic Act No. 10086, or the law reverting the National Historical Institute into its original form as the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.


Current activities

The NHCP still undertakes all the functions of the previous commissions, most notably those of preserving historical sites and structures and serving as lead agency for the commemorations of Independence Day and
Rizal Day Rizal Day (, ; ) is a Philippine national holiday commemorating life and works of José Rizal, a national hero of the Philippines. It is celebrated every December 30, the anniversary of Rizal's 1896 execution at Bagumbayan (present-day Rizal ...
. File:Church_of_Nuestra_Señora_de_Manaoag_historical_marker.jpg, marker File:Church_of_Barasoain_NHCP_Historical_Marker.jpg, marker Church of the Immaculate Conception of Tamontaka Seal.JPG, marker File:Katedral ng Kalookan NHCP Historical Marker (cropped).jpg, marker


List of Chairpersons


List of Executive Directors


See also

*
List of historical markers of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and its predecessor agencies install historical markers (; or ) in the Philippines and overseas to signify important and historic events, persons, sites, structures, and institution ...
*
Philippine Historical Association The Philippine Historical Association (''Kapisanang Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas'' in Tagalog language, Tagalog) is a professional body, professional association of historians in the Philippines and is considered one of the oldest organizations of ...


Further reading

*Rakkan, S. (2018). ''Prawattisāt niphon Filippin kap chatā kam khō̜ng chāt'' hilippine Historiography and the Searching for the Destiny of the Nation Bangkok: Illuminations Editions. (in Thai)


References


External links

* *
NHCP's Interactive Registry of Government Seals
{{Authority control
History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
Government agencies established in 1933