Esteemed professor, researcher and anthropologist remembered for exemplary cultural work.
Eminent social anthropologist, writer, professor and researcher Dr. Florentino Hornedo passed away yesterday morning, December 9, 2015, in his hometown in Sabtang, Batanes. He was 77 years old. The wake is being held in Mahatao, Batanes.
Dr. Hornedo was widely considered an expert in philosophy and culture, as well as an authority in Ivatan culture. He was also a much sought-after speaker and lecturer.
Dr. Hornedo was born on October 16, 1938, in Savidug, Sabtang, Batanes, and graduated from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Education, cum laude, in 1961. He attended St. Louis University in Baguio City for graduate studies, earning two degrees, one in English Literature, cum laude (1966), and another in Philosophy, cum laude. He pursued a doctorate in Literature at UST, graduating in 1977 meritissimus. He also took a post doctorate degree in History and Political Science Training in Journalism and Anthropology (1985).
Dr. Hornedo had been a professor for numerous years, teaching philosophy, literature and Asian studies at the Ateneo de Manila University and UST, among others. He was also visiting professor to 29 universities in Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and the United States.
He has been a recipient of numerous awards including the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the National Catholic Authors Award, the Pilak Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines, National Book Awards from the Ateneo de Manila University, the Batanes Provincial Achievement Recognition for Cultural and Social Research, and the Recognition Award for Social Research from the UST College of Education Alumni Association, Inc.
Author of 13 books on philosophy, education, culture and history, he became a commissioner of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines. In 1999, he chaired the UNESCO Committee to draft the Washington D.C. Statement on International Intangible Heritage at the Smithsonian Institution. He was also a commissioner of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino. He was also a member of the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), first, from 2007 to 2011 and second, from 2011 up to present.
The NCCA, with its chairman Felipe M. de Leon Jr. and OIC-executive director Adelina M. Suemith, joins the nation in mourning a great loss and in honoring a luminous legacy, which enriches our knowledge of our country and identity, left behind by Dr. Florentino Hornedo.
