ROLANDO O. BORRINAGA was born and raised in Naval, Biliran Province, when this was still part of Leyte. He received his B.S. in Agriculture (major in Agribusiness) and a cognate degree in Philippine Studies from Silliman University, Dumaguete City, in 1980; Master of Management in Public Management from U.P. Tacloban College, in 1987; and Doctor of Philosophy in Social Science Research from Leyte Normal University, Tacloban City, in 2002.

His doctoral dissertation, The Balangiga Conflict Revisited, was published as a book that became Finalist for the 2003 National Book Award for History of the Manila Critics Circle. His second book, The Colonial Odyssey of Leyte (1521-1914), co-authored by the late Fr. Cantius J. Kobak, OFM, won the 2006 National Book Award for Translation. His third book, Archbishop Lino R. Gonzaga: Christian Trailblazer from Leyte, is now off the press.

Dr. Borrinaga is a full professor at the School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of the Philippines Manila, in Palo, Leyte. Aside from teaching general education courses to health sciences students, he engages in community journalism, local historical research, and peace development advocacy. He has just been awarded a U.P. Centennial Professorial Chair for 2008.

As a community journalist, he writes a column for The Tacloban Star and contributes articles to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the country's leading newspaper. He won the grand prize in the 2001 Gawad Kalinangan Journalism Awards of the Rotary Club of Manila. He also won the LRP (Leo R. Prieto) Award for Best Feature Story of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in September 2004.

As a local historian, he has published books and articles in several academic journals and read academic papers on Leyte-Samar history and culture in various regional and national conferences since 1996. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Philippine National Historical Society (PNHS), Inc., the oldest voluntary professional organization devoted to study and research in Philippine history. He was the issue editor of The Journal of History, Vol. 53 (January-December 2007) and has been tasked to also edit Vol. 54 of the same journal.

As a peace development advocate, he is involved in the campaign for the return of the Bells of Balangiga from the U.S. to Samar, Philippines, and in promoting awareness about the peaceful co-existence among virtual enemies (Japanese soldiers, local residents, and Filipino guerrillas) in Biliran Island during World War II.

Dr. Borrinaga has facilitated Japanese study tours to SHS since 1985. Many young Japanese students have been inspired by his example as a teacher, journalist and historian. His work with the SHS was the subject of a documentary feature story made by Fuji TV, Japan’s largest TV station, for its “World Caravan” program. First broadcast on April 27, 2006, the seven-minute feature was woven around a “thank you” letter to him, written by a Japanese student of Tokyo International University who expressed her gratitude for the positive impact on her life of the study tour she had joined.

As organizer/facilitator of the field visits of the JICA Training Course for Prospective Experts of Primary Health Care from 1998 to 2002, Dr. Borrinaga exposed the Japanese participants to the work of SHS and its graduates who are engaged in rural health work.

He is married to Dr. Jane Ragrag-Borrinaga, from Jaro, Leyte. A Fellow of the Philippine College of Physicians, she chairs the Department of Medicine of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) in Tacloban City. They have two sons, George Emmanuel and Frederick. A high school scholar at the Philippine Science High School, Eastern Visayas Campus, George graduated from the University of San Carlos in Cebu City with a B.S. in Computer Engineering in 2006 and a Master in History in 2008. Frederick graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, also from USC, in 2007 and passed the licensure examination for mechanical engineers months later. Both are now starting careers in their respective fields of interest.

Dr. Borrinaga’s biographical sketch appeared in the 13th (1996) edition of Who’s Who in the World, published by Marquis Who’s Who in the United States, and in the 25th (1997) edition of Dictionary of International Biography, published by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England.