The mother of Prof. Ambeth Ocampo and the woman who looks like her
AMBETH OCAMPO – The history professor responded to a widely circulated photo featuring a woman posing alongside a portrait of his mother displayed at the National Museum of Fine Arts.
Veronica Balayo, a social media user, shared a video highlighting her striking resemblance to Belen Ocampo, the historian’s mother.
“We were just casually looking and appreciating all the artworks. Actually [joke joke] ko lang talaga yun na parang ako but after seeing the photo sinabi ko sa officemate ko bakit parang ako?! sabi nila [oo nga] and then yun na nag picture ako together with the photo without even knowing kung sino yun,” she explained.
Upon discovering the post, Professor Ocampo acknowledged Balayo’s video, stating, “Trending on Tiktok video this morning was the post of Veronica Balayo, a recent visitor to the National Museum who resembles a photo-oleo of my mother from the 1950’s! The video has earned over 400,000 likes!”
Some fans of the historian encouraged him to personally meet Balayo, expressing sentiments like, “This may have brought tears to your eyes, Sir Ambeth, seeing your mom in her, alive and in her youth,” as mentioned by a netizen.
Meanwhile, Ambeth R. Ocampo, born in 1961 in Manila, is a prominent Filipino historian, academic, cultural administrator, journalist, author, and curator. Best known for his writings on José Rizal and Philippine history, he served as Chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Ocampo’s career spans academia, where he is a professor at Ateneo de Manila University, and cultural administration, including contributions to the redesign of Philippine currency. His diverse contributions extend to art history and curation. Ocampo’s extensive collection of Filipiniana is housed in various locations, and he has received numerous honors, including the Fukuoka Prize in 2016 for his significant contributions to Philippine history and culture.