National Historical Commission of the Philippines 4.53

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, 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 and to rekindle the Filipino spirit through the lessons of history."HistoryThe present day NHCP was established in 1972 as part of the reorganization of government after President Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of martial law, but the roots of the institute can be traced back to 1933, when the American colonial Insular Government 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, by Executive Order 451, to identify and mark "historic antiquities" in Manila as a first step towards their preservation. The commission's mandate was later expanded to cover the whole of the Philippines.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; and Filipinos Jaime C. de Veyra, Conrado Benitez, and Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez.