Assistant Professor of History

University of the Philippines Diliman

Lorenz Timothy Barco Ranera is an Assistant Professor at the Department of History, University of the Philippines Diliman. He earned his degree in BS Computer Science-Statistical Computing Track (2019) at the University of the Philippines Manila, and MA History (2023) at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Prior to joining the faculty, he was a faculty member at the Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences, UP Manila from 2019 to 2024.

His research focuses on Philippine legal history (family law and criminal law) and natural language processing (particularly NLP applications to legal corpora). He is also interested in pursuing the use of advanced statistics, modeling, and NLP methods, in writing historical narratives and social science research.

His master's thesis, "The Historical-Legal Development of Divorce Laws and Jurisprudence in the Philippines, 1898–1950," focused on the transition within the Philippine legal system from "relative divorce" to "absolute divorce," and eventually to "legal separation" during the first half of the twentieth century. The narrative highlights the challenges, responses, and criticisms surrounding the first legislation on absolute divorce (Act No. 2710) enacted in 1917, as well as the politics that led to the removal of absolute divorce during the drafting of the Civil Code of the Philippines in 1949.