The International Affairs Office proudly celebrates the remarkable achievement of Mr. Robert Sanchis Alvarez, an alumnus of its short-term International Filipino Language and Culture Program and a Spanish national. During archival research in Spain, Alvarez rediscovered a rare 1893 edition of El Latigo Nacional-a Spanish-language newspaper founded by Filipino reformist and hero Graciano Lopez Jaena. Known for its biting satire and fearless critique of colonial abuses, El Latigo Nacional was last published in Barcelona and had been lost to history for over a century.

Now carefully conserved and digitized, the rediscovered newspaper was officially unveiled on May 7, 2025, at a symposium titled "El Latigo Nacional and the Afterlife of Print: Lopez Jaena, Archival Return, and Transpacific Conversations", hosted by the University of the Philippines Visayas.

Mr. Alvarez's discovery revives a significant piece of Philippine journalism and highlights the importance of international academic collaboration in preserving Filipino heritage.