THERE are many publishers of those big hardbound glossy volumes we like to call coffee table books, but in my opinion, there are six major forces in recent Philippine publishing history when it comes to these beautiful books:

The Marcos regime, which not only liked to publish photographic records of its achievements as a means of propaganda, but also a lot about the scenery and culture in the country, and even an entire colored book on the Vatican!

The late Manuel Duldulao documented the culture and the colors of many of the cities and towns in Metro Manila, and also the work of Filipino artists through our time in the 1980s and the 1990s.

Also, three publishing companies: Studio 5 produced many of the volumes which celebrated our history during our 100th birthday as a nation, Bookmark, as well as Vibal Foundation.

And then, there’s Ambassador José Maria “Jomari” A. Cariño, the director general of the Foreign Service Institute.

Although he once told me when I said he was one of the kings of the coffee table book in the Philippines: “I don’t do coffee table books, my friend, I only do art books that require full-color illustrations needed to show the beauty and impact of the artworks. Coffee table books are shallow and badly researched, for example, the ‘100 Best Tourism Spots in Timbuktu.’ That is a coffee table book.”

Jomari grew up always on the move away from the Philippines because his father was a diplomat. Soon enough, he, too, became a career diplomat who was posted in Madrid and London, and served in various capacities inside our Department of Foreign Affairs, including being a director general of a Philippine aid agency, the Technical Cooperation Council of the Philippines.

Working in Spain, he was able to track down some paintings by Filipino masters in the houses of old Spanish families which he documented in a book “Rediscovering Philippine Art in Spain.” Because art books are in limited circulation, a secondhand copy of the latter mentioned book is priced now at around P50,000. With his vast network in various parts of the world, he was able to collect works of art by the 18th and 19th century Filipino masters, aside from the manuscripts, books, prints, maps, photographs, piña and other artifacts now housed in the beautiful elevated Museo Cariño, overlooking the city of Cebu, which he will soon open upon his retirement.

Ambassador Cariño gave color to our imagery of the Spanish colonial period by publishing the rare albums by artists at that time in Jose Honorato Lozano and “Album: Las Islas Filipinas” through Ars Mundi, Philippinae. Both became National Book Awardwinning tomes.

He is either an author, publisher or editor of many art books that showcase the Filipino experience and talent. Among them “The Manila Galleon Volumes 1 and 2,” “The Life and Works of Luis Ac-Ac of Paete,” “José Rizal: Sculptor” and the “Philippine Chronicles: A Quincentennial Celebration.”

In 2021, he launched the FSI Cultural Heritage Series, the institute’s biggest publication program, believing that documenting our culture, so we can showcase it to the world is part of diplomacy. Just in the past few months, he and his team were working on 20 books on diverse topics such as adobo, “kakanin” and the art, and artists of various provinces, mainly Cebu, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Cavite, and many others.

One of the latest ones is about a lesser-known sculptor from the Philippines who happened to give us honor in the West, Felix Pardo de Tavera, the brother-in-law of Juan Luna. Many of the artworks featured in his books are actually part of his collection.

Just last week, fresh off the press, he came out with a massive book on the art and history of the San Sebastian Basilica in the size of “The Beatles Anthology,” entitled “Ironclad Faith.” A dream team of contributors was assembled to write a comprehensive and holistic view of a national treasure, all the experts on the topics presented, and the ones that know San Sebastian really well: José Maria Cariño; Fr. Rene Paglinawan, OAR; Regalado Trota José; Maria Cristina Paterno; Marianne Claire Vitug; Fernando Zialcita; Edgar Allan Sembrano; Fr. Billy Ray Malcura, OFS; Michael Manalo; Caryn Paredes-Santillan; Stan Cabigas; Amelia Zubiri-Miguel; and Felix Mago Miguel. The big colored photo plates make you appreciate the art of the whole church without having to fly to the ceiling.

Proceeds of “Ironclad Faith” will help in the restoration of the church. In the extended text of the front cover flap of the book, I wrote, “The Catholic Church is not its only owner: the people — nay, we the Filipino people — should own it! [It is] one true treasure for the Philippines and a precious gift of heritage that our nation can proudly offer to the rest of the world.”

And so it is also true with Jomari’s art books.