Our Partners

National Commission for Culture and the Arts undefined

The National Commission for the Culture and Arts (NCCA) is the prime Philippine government agency that safeguards, develops, and promotes Filipino culture. NCCA carries out this mandate through the formulation and implementation of enabling policies and programs, as well as the administration of endowment funds, for culture and arts.  

In our desire to preserve the centuries-old demographic and canonical records of the Parish, we requested the assistance of the NCCA in early 2018. In April 2018, an expert from the NCCA conducted a physical assessment of the San Jose archival records and subsequently issued a Technical Assistance Report describing the condition of the books and recommending specific courses of action. The NCCA report is summarized here. 

(N.B.: Digitization of the historical books, one of the recommendations of NCCA, is outside the scope of Kasaysayan ng San Jose inasmuch as The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints have done such digitization, and have also donated the digital version of the records to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. We will work with these institutions to allow the Parish archive to have online access to the digitized records.)

Under its 2021 Competitive Grants Program, the NCCA awarded a grant to Kasaysayan ng San Jose to partly finance the establishment of an archive. The archive will be named “Archivo de San José de Malaquing Tubig” to commemorate the name of the town when it was founded in 1767.

De La Salle University, Manila undefined

De La Salle University (DLSU), through its Department of History, agreed to be our partner in Kasaysayan ng San Jose. The following activities will be undertaken by DLSU:

  • As part of their practicum, DLSU students majoring in History will (a) catalogue the ecclesiastical records of the Parish, and (b) research best practices in archival architecture and assist in the design of the proposed archive; and
  • Write a book on the history of San Jose based on the centuries-old demographic and canonical records held at the parish. 

On February 28, 2020, the Parish and DLSU signed a Memorandum of Agreement covering the cataloging of the ecclesiastical records. (See photo below)

The Parish and DLSU signed a Memorandum of Agreement
(L to R): Dr. Arleigh Ross dela Cruz, DLSU Associate Professor of History; Rev. Fr. Edwin Tolentino, OSJ, Parish Priest of SJ; Dr. Ma. Florina Orillos-Juan, Chair of DLSU History Department; and Mr. Marlou O. Castillo, Executive Director of Kasaysayan ng San Jose.

Archdiocese of Lipa undefined

Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of the Archdiocese of Lipa has expressed his support for Kasaysayan ng San Jose.

The Archbishop’s support reflects the great importance the Catholic Church places over preservation and guardianship of historical and artistic artifacts kept in ecclesiastical museums, libraries and archives. To guide preservation efforts, the Church established the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church.

In 1997, the Commission issued a Circular Letter on “The Pastoral Function of Church Archives” which states the following:

“In the mind of the Church, archives are places of memory of the Christian community and storehouses of culture for the new evangelization. Thus, they themselves are a cultural good of primary importance whose special merit lies in recording the path followed by the Church through the centuries in the various contexts which constitute her very structure. (page 1)

“Archives are places of Church memory, which must be preserved, transmitted, renewed, appreciated because they represent the most direct connection with the heritage of the ecclesial community. (page 6)

“The primary concern regarding Church archives in the particular churches is certainly to preserve such a precious heritage with care in order that it may be handed down to future generations. . . Preservation is a need that we today justly owe to those who have gone before us.” (page 12)