HAVING been in the academe for more than two decades now, I am aware of what little awareness some academicians have of the work of public intellectuals. Of course, what is the match between an academic book or a refereed academic paper with a newspaper column or a television feature or interview in terms of effort and time spent writing?

Yes, the groundbreaking research of academic historians, done with discipline and time spent in focus and solitude to finish a long work, is important. In fact, public historians like myself and non-historians who practice public history try to capture and synthesize those works too for the public. What I'm saying is that the work of those who bring history closer to the people is also great because we pay the price of our public engagement. Not only do some of us find it hard to finish our graduate degrees because of our engagements, but we often bear the brunt of the battles in the ever-contentious battlefield of Philippine history. The statement of support from some intellectuals recently for Ambeth Ocampo was long overdue.