The current chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), Dr. Rene R. Escalante was elected as chairman during the Board of Commissioners meeting held today, 7 July 2022, at the Metropolitan Theatre. The board meeting of the NCCA was called for after Cultural Center of the Philippines president and concurrent NCCA chairman Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso recently resigned. Dr. Escalante will be serving as Chairman of NCCA for the remaining six months of 2022.

Dr. Escalante is a professor of history and a former chair of the Department of History of the De La Salle University. He earned his baccalaureate degree from St. Camillus College Seminary and his master’s degree from the Ateneo de Manila University. In 2001, he received his doctorate degree in History from the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Dr. Escalante is also a well-published academic. Among his books are “The American Friar Lands Policy: Its Framers, Context and Beneficiaries” (2002); “The Bearer of Pax Americana: The Philippine Career of William H. Taft” (2007) and “History of Hacienda de Imus” (2013).

He was secretary of NCCA National Committee on Historical Research (NCHR) from 2004 to 2007 and was head of the NCHR from 2008-2010. He was also appointed as member of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Technical Panel on history, serving from 2015 to 2016. In 2010, he was appointed Commissioner of the NHCP, and in 2017, Dr. Escalante was elected as chairman of NHCP.

Welcome, Chairman Rene Escalante!