Historian Carmen Nakpil dies at 96

MANILA, Philippines  – The Philippines has lost another “national treasure” in the field of public history.

Prominent historian Carmen “Chitang” Guerrero Nakpil died in the morning of Monday, July 30. She was 96.

Nakpil was the chairperson of the National Historical Commission from 1967 to 1971. She was known for her brilliance and service in the fields of journalism and history, researching on Philippine history and Filipino identity. 

She also chaired the cultural committee of the Philippine Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in the 1960s, and was later on elected as a member of the Unesco General Assembly in Paris. 

Nakpil was a member of the Commission on the Role of Women and of the Philippine Board of Review for Motion Pictures, and managing director and later director general of the Technology Resource Center.

In her earlier days, Nakpil worked for the Manila Chronicle for 12 years. She also wrote as a columnist for the Malaya, Evening News Saturday Magazine, Weekly Women’s Magazine, and other newspapers. 

Colleagues dubbed her the “Grand Old Lady of Public History” for her long and numeours efforts to bring history closer to Filipinos. 

Among her most notable works were Woman Enough (1963), Question of Identity (1973), The Philippines and the Filipinos (1977), The Philippines (1989), and Rice Conspiracy (1990). Her final works – Myself, Elsewhere (2006), Legends & Adventures (2007), and Exeunt (2009) – were a trilogy based on her life. – Rappler.com