Ambeth R. Ocampo OL KGOR OMC OAL is a Filipino public historian, academic, cultural administrator, journalist, author, and independent curator.

[10] Ocampo began writing for Weekend Magazine, the Sunday supplement of the Philippine Daily Express in 1985 and subsequently joined its editorial staff as an associate editor.

He has also annotated the second edition of Rizal in Saga: A Life for Student Fans written by the late National Artist Nick Joaquin that includes newly uncovered research material collated by Ocampo and photographs from his private collection in 2021.

[13] In addition, he has published monographs on other historical and cultural figures in Philippine history, including musical composer Nicanor Abelardo, historian Teodoro Agoncillo and Teodora Alonso, the mother of Rizal, amongst others.

In response to criticism for his populist approach to historiography, he has since released two compilations of his public lectures, Meaning and History focused on Jose Rizal and Bones of Contention on Andres Bonifacio both published in 2001, complete with citations and footnotes.

[22] In recent years, he has written numerous articles on late former Philippine president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos compiling all known extant entries of his diaries collated from six different sources, and annotating them.

[25][26] In response, academics and Ateneo de Manila University denounced the attack on Ocampo and issued messages in support of the historian due to the ongoing attempts of historical distortion on martial law regime of the late dictator.

[42] The issue later resurfaced in 1990, when Ocampo engaged in a heated word war with former Philippine politician Manuel Morato who published these drawings in the said book.

[11] Since then, Ocampo has continued providing commentaries on other issues on Philippine art, including the 2019 sale of Camote Diggers considered the last artwork by National Artist Botong Francisco and the provenance of an boceto of the Spoliarium by Juan Luna in 2018.

[43][44] Consequently, Ocampo has also conducted extensive research on Philippine antiquities including Christian art, Southeast Asian ceramics, maps, and furniture.

During his term as its chairman, Ocampo weathered criticism over attempts to enforce provisions of the existing Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines by reminding artists singing the Philippine national anthem during international boxing matches of the proper way to sing the anthem, and his controversial decision to paint the Rizal clan house green – to remind Filipinos that the word "Rizal" came from "ricial" meaning a green field ready for harvest.

From 2002 to 2011, Ocampo served as adviser to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Numismatic Committee that deliberated on the redesign of banknotes and coins in the Philippines.

His clear and accessible explanations of the wider global context in which the country developed during the period of the Spanish and American colonial regimes have helped promote a more open sense of nationalism, and facilitated the advancement of international exchanges both with Asia and with the West.

[61][62] In December 2013, during the state visit of President Benigno Aquino III to Tokyo, Ocampo was conferred the Presidential Medal of Merit whose citation reads, "for his achievements as a scholar, teacher, and in recognition of his writings through which he popularized Philippine history, art and culture thus bringing these aspects of our national identity closer to the people.

"[63] In September 2016, Ocampo was awarded the prestigious Fukuoka Prize (Academic) for his contributions to Philippine history and culture making him the fifth Filipino to be so honored with the recognition.