Regalado Trota Jose, renowned for his expertise in the history and heritage of Philippine churches, has been elected as the new chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
His oath was administered on July 12 by National Museum of the Philippines director general Jeremy Barns.
Jose replaces public historian and curator Lisa Guerrero Nakpil, who served as chair for four months.
Nakpil in turn replaced Cavite history expert Emmanuel Calairo in late March. Calairo served as chair for a year.
In a post following his assumption as chair, NHCP described Jose as “a leading researcher, scholar and educator, playing a pivotal role in modernizing the Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomas,” where he served as archivist from 2011 to 2021.
In UST, Jose also taught at the cultural heritage studies program of its graduate school and wrote (and still writes) many journal articles on the history of parishes and churches in the country, particularly the Cagayan Valley Region.
Jose authored many books on history and church heritage, including “Simbahan: Church Art in Colonial Philippines, 1565-1898” (1991); “Impreso: Philippine Imprints 1593-1811” (1993); and “Curas de Almas: A Preliminary Listing of Parishes and Parish Priests in the 19th Century Philippines” (2008).
His recent books are “Simbahán: An Illustrated Guide to 50 of the Philippines’ Must-Visit Catholic Churches” (2021), and “San Sebastian Basilica: Ironclad Faith” (2023), which he coauthored with other heritage specialists, notably, Fernando Zialcita.
He obtained his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of the Philippines-Diliman in 1978 and masters in Philippine Studies from the same university in 1991.
His nine-year stint (1974-1983) as a member of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, which is celebrating its 60th year this year, expanded his education in the arts and church history through concerts all over the country and many parts of the world. —CONTRIBUTED
