Paul A. Dumol is a

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

playwright, historian and educator. He is a member of the Philippine Center for Civic Education and Democracy and has served as its chair. He is author of the ''A History of the Filipino People for High Schools''. He graduated as a ''summa cum laude'' and

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

, Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts at the

Ateneo de Manila , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_affi ...

. He then completed his Master of Liberal Arts with specialization in Philosophy at the

University of Navarra , image = UNAV.svg , latin_name = Universitas Studiorum Navarrensis , established = 17 October 1952 , type = Private, Roman Catholic , chancellor = Fernando Ocáriz Braña , president = María Iraburu Eliz ...

. He holds a licentiate in Medieval Studies with specialization in Philosophy from the Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies. He gained his Doctor of Philosophy in Medieval Studies from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. His play ''Ang Paglilitis kay Mang Serapio'' (The Trial of Mang Serapio, 1968) is considered by some as the first

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

play. Other plays include ''Kabesang Tales'', Libretto of ''Ang Pagpatay kay Antonio Luna''. Many of his plays revolve around historical figures. In 2014, His work Manila Synod of 1582: The Draft of Its Handbook for Confessors won the Philippine national book award for best translation He received the ''Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas'' in the field of drama from the ''Unyon ng Manunulat ng Pilipinas'' (2002), Centennial Honors for the Arts in the field of drama from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (1999). He was Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the

University of Asia and the Pacific The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P; Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Asya at Pasipiko'') is a private university in the Philippines. It traces its beginnings to the Center for Research and Communication (CRC), which was established on August 1 ...

until 2007. He lectures on philosophy and the

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

of film and also teaches film scriptwriting to

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

students. He is known for his pro-colonization stance, describing the colonization of the islands as "good", and defending the proponents of colonial rule such as white Spanish colonizers, notably priests.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Filipino dramatists and playwrights Academic staff of the University of Asia and the Pacific 20th-century Filipino historians Opus Dei members Ateneo de Manila University alumni University of Navarra alumni University of Toronto alumni {{Philippines-writer-stub