National Artist of the Philippines

The Order of National Artists of the Philippines (Tagalog: Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas) is an order bestowed by the President of the Philippines on Philippine nationals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine art. Members of the order are known as National Artists. Originally instituted as an award, it was elevated to the status of an order in 2003.

The order is administered by the Cultural Center of the Philippines by virtue of President Ferdinand Marcos's Proclamation No. 1001 of April 27, 1972, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. The first award was posthumously conferred on Filipino painter Fernando Amorsolo.

Definition

The order of the highest state honor is conferred on individuals deemed as having done much for their artistic field. Deserving individuals must have been recommended by both the Cultural Center and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts prior to receiving the award. Such people are then titled, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist (Filipino: Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining), and are inducted into the order. Due to the non-retroactive nature of Proclamation No. 1001, artists who have died before 1972 are currently unable to be honored in the National Artist roster. Some individuals who have made significant contributions to the arts that are unable to be bestowed with the title of "National Artist" include Jose Rizal, Leona Florentino, Juan Luna, and Félix Resurrección Hidalgo. The Congress of the Philippines or the President of the Philippines has yet to either enact a law or release a presidential proclamation that would allow Filipinos who died before 1972 to be declared as National Artists. Three Filipino artists were given "special exemption" from the non-retroactive rule (Amorsolo, Francisco, and Hernandez), as they died within the so-called "final years" of the Third Philippine Republic (1965–1972) and not before that time.

Criteria

thumb|300px|right|Current logo for the [[Philippine Registry of Cultural Property]]

The National Artists of the Philippines is based on broad criteria, as set forth by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts:

Benefits

The rank and title of National Artist, as proclaimed by the President of the Philippines;
A grand collar of the Order of National Artist and a citation;
A lifetime emolument and material and physical benefits comparable in value to those received by the highest officers of the land such as:

:#a cash Award of one hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000.00) net of taxes, for living awardees;

:#a cash Award of seventy-five thousand pesos (₱75,000.00) net of taxes, for posthumous awardees, payable to legal heir/s;

:#a monthly life pension, medical and hospitalization benefits;

:#life insurance coverage for Awardees who are still insurable;

:#a state funeral and burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani;

:#a place of honor, in line with protocolar precedence, at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.

Roster of National Artists

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! President

! Year

! Picture

! Awardee

! Province

! Category

! Notes

! rowspan="18"|100px Ferdinand Marcos

! 1972

| 75px

| Fernando Cueto Amorsolo (1892–1972)

| Manila

| Visual Arts – Painting

| posthumous conferment

! rowspan="7" | 1973

| 75px

| Francisca Santos Reyes-Aquino (1899–1983)

| Bulacan

| Dance

| 75px

| Carlos Modesto "Botong" Villaluz Francisco (1912–1969)

| Rizal

| Visual Arts – Painting

| rowspan="2" | posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Amado Vera Hernández (1903–1970)

| Manila

| Literature

| 75px

| Antonio Jesus Naguiat Molina (1894–1980)

| Manila

| Music

| 75px

| Juan Felipe de Jesus Nakpil (1899–1986)

| Manila

| Architecture

| 75px

| Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (1890–1976)

| Bulacan

| Visual Arts – Sculpture

| 75px

| José García Villa (1908–1997)

| Manila

| Literature

! rowspan="7" | 1976

| 75px

| Napoleón "Billy" Veloso Abueva (1930–2018)

| Bohol

| Visual Arts – Sculpture

| 75px

| Leonor Luna Orosa-Goquingco (1917–2005)

| Batangas

| Dance

| 75px

| Lamberto Vera Avellana (1915–1991)

| Mountain Province

| Film and Theater

| 75px

| Nicomedes "Nick" Márquez Joaquín (1917–2004)

| Manila

| Literature

| 75px

| Jovita Flores Fuentes (1895–1978)

| Capiz

| Music

| 75px

| Victorio Cándido Edades (1895–1985)

| Pangasinan

| Visual Arts – Painting

| 75px

| Pablo Sebero Antonio Sr. (1901–1975)

| Manila

| Architecture

| rowspan="3" | posthumous conferment

! 1981

| 75px

| Vicente Silva Manansala (1910–1981)

| Pampanga

| Visual Arts – Painting

! rowspan="2" | 1982

| 75px

| Gerardo "Gerry" Ilagan de Leon (1913–1981)

| Manila

| Film

| 75px

| Carlos Peña Rómulo (1898–1985)

| Tarlac

| Literature

! rowspan="9"|100px Corazon Aquino

! 1987

| 126x126px|Dalagang Bukid sarsuwela (cropped)

| Honorata "Atang" Márquez de la Rama-Hernández (1902–1991)

| Manila

| Theater and Music

! rowspan="2" | 1988

| Antonino Ramírez Buenaventura (1904–1996)

| Bulacan

| Music

| 75px

| Lucrecia Faustino Reyes-Urtula (1929–1999)

| Iloilo

| Dance

! 1989

| 75px

| Lucrecia Roces Kasilag (1918–2008)

| La Union

| Music

! rowspan="3" | 1990

| Zacarias Francisco "Franz" Quino Arcellana (1916–2002)

| Manila

| Literature

| 75px

| Cesar Torrente Legaspi (1917–1994)

| Manila

| Visual Arts – Painting

| Leandro Valencia Locsín (1928–1994)

| Negros Occidental

| Architecture

! rowspan="2" | 1991

| Hernando Ruiz Ocampo (1911–1978)

| Manila

| Visual Arts – Painting

| posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Lucio Diestro San Pedro Sr. (1913–2002)

| Rizal

| Music

! rowspan="9"|100px Fidel V. Ramos

! rowspan="9" | 1997

| 75px

| Catalino "Lino" Ortiz Brocka (1939–1991)

| Sorsogon

| Film

| rowspan="4" | posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Felipe Padilla de León (1912–1992)

| Nueva Ecija

| Music

| 75px

| Wilfrido María Barredo Guerrero (1911–1995)

| Manila

| Theater

| Rolando Santos Tinio (1937–1997)

| Manila

| Theater and Literature

| 75px

| Néstor Vicente Madali González (1915–1999)

| Romblon

| Literature

| 75px

| Levi Celerio Cruz (1910–2002)

| Manila

| Music & Literature

| 75px

| Arturo Rogerio Luz (1926–2021)

| Manila

| Visual Arts – Painting

| 75px

| José Montserrat Maceda (1917–2004)

| Manila and Laguna

| Music

| 75px

| Carlos Lozada Quirino (1910–1999)

| Manila

| Historical Literature

! rowspan="5"|100px Joseph Estrada

! rowspan="5" | 1999

| Jerry Navarro Elizalde (1924–1999)

| Antique

| Visual Arts – Painting

| rowspan="2" | posthumous conferment

| Ernani Joson Cuenco (1936–1988)

| Bulacan

| rowspan="2" | Music

| Andrea Carriaga Ofilada-Veneracion (1928–2013)

| Manila

| 75px

| Edith Cutaran López-Tiempo (1919–2011)

| Nueva Vizcaya and Negros Oriental

| Literature

| 75px

| Daisy Pardo Hontiveros-Avellana (1917–2013)

| Capiz

| Theater

! rowspan="19"|100px Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

! rowspan="4" | 2001

| 75px

| Ishmael Bernal (1938–1996)

| Manila

| Film

| rowspan="2" | posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Severino Tabat Montano (1915–1980)

| Ilocos Norte

| Theater

| 75px

| Francisco Sionil José (1924–2022)

| Pangasinan

| Literature

| Ang Kiukok (1931–2005)

| Davao del Sur

| rowspan="2" | Visual Arts – Painting

! rowspan="5" | 2003

| Jose T. Joya (1931–1995)

| Manila

| posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Virgilio Senadrin Almario (b. 1944)

| Bulacan

| rowspan="2" | Literature

| 75px

| Alejandro Reyes Roces (1924–2011)

| Manila

| 75px

| Edgar Sinco Romero (1924–2013)

| Negros Oriental

| Film and Broadcast Arts

| 75px

| Salvador Floro Bernal (1945–2011)

| Pangasinan

| Theater and Design

! rowspan="7" | 2006

| 75px

| Benedicto Reyes Cabrera (b. 1942)

| Manila

| Visual Arts – Painting

| 75px

| Abdulmari Asia Imao (1936–2014)

| Sulu

| Visual Arts – Sculpture

| 75px

| Bienvenido Lumbera (1932–2021)

| Batangas

| Literature

| Ramon Arevalo Obusan (1938–2006)

| Albay

| Dance

| 75px

| Ildefonso Paez Santos Jr. (1929–2014)

| Manila

| Architecture – Landscape

| 75px

| Ronald Allan "Fernando" Kelley Poe Jr. (1939–2004)

| Manila

| Film

| rowspan="5" | posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Ramón Oswald Valera (1912–1972)

| Abra

| Fashion Design

! rowspan="3" | 2009

| 75px

| Manuel Pabustan Urbano (Manuel Conde) (1915–1985)

| Camarines Norte

| Film and Broadcast Arts

| Lázaro Ángeles Francisco (1898–1980)

| Bataan

| Literature

| Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (1932–2011)

| Manila

| Visual Arts – Painting, Sculpture and Mixed Media

! rowspan="6" |100px Benigno Aquino III

! rowspan="6" | 2014

| 75px

| Alice García Reyes van Doorn (b. 1942)

| Manila

| Dance

| 75px

| Francisco Vicente Coching (1919–1998)

| Manila

| Visual Arts

| posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Cirilo Francisco Bautista (1941–2018)

| Manila

| Literature

| Francisco Espíritu Feliciano (1941–2014)

| Rizal

| Music

| posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Ramón Pagayon Santos (b. 1941)

| Manila

| Music

| José María Vélez Zaragoza (1912–1994)

| Manila

| Architecture

| posthumous conferment

! rowspan="15" |100px Rodrigo Duterte

! rowspan="7" | 2018

| 75px

| Raymundo Cipriano "Ryan" Pujante Cayabyab (b. 1954)

| Manila

| Music

| 75px

| Francisco "Bobby" Tronqued Mañosa (1931–2019)

| Manila

| Architecture and Allied Arts

| Ramón Larupay Muzones (1913–1992)

| Iloilo

| Literature

| posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Resil Buagas Mojares (b. 1943)

| Zamboanga del Norte/Cebu

| Literature

| Lauro "Larry" Zarate Alcala (1926–2002)

| Albay

| Visual Arts

| posthumous conferment

| 75px

| Amelia Ramolete Lapeña-Bonifacio (1930–2020)

| Manila

| Theater

| 75px

| Eric Oteyza de Guia (Kidlat Tahimik) (b. 1942)

| Benguet

| Film and Broadcast Arts

! rowspan="8" | 2022

| 75px

| Nora Cabaltera Villamayor "Aunor" (1953–2025)

| Camarines Sur

| Film and Broadcast Arts

| 75px

| Agnes Dakudao Locsin (b. 1957)

| Davao

| Dance

| 75px

| Fides Belza Cuyugan-Asensio (b. 1931)

| Quezon

| Music

| 75px

| Ricardo "Ricky" Arreola Lee (b. 1948)

| Camarines Norte

| Film and Broadcast Arts

| 75px

| Gémino Henson Abad (b. 1939)

| Manila

| Literature

| Antonio "Tony" Ocampo Mabesa (1935–2019)

| Laguna

| Theater

| rowspan="3" | posthumous conferment

| Marilou Correa Diaz-Abaya (1955–2012)

| Manila

| Film and Broadcast Arts

| 75px

| Salvacion Navera Lim-Higgins (1920–1990)

| Albay

| Fashion Design

In May 2006, under the Arroyo administration, the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) already conferred the award to Poe but the late actor's wife, Susan Roces refused to acknowledge it. President Aquino has approved and signed Proclamation 435 affirming the previous proclamation of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declaring the late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. a National Artist, posthumously. The Poe family finally accepted the conferment on 16 August 2012.

Aguilar Alcuaz, Francisco, and Conde were all proclaimed in 2009 but the conferment of the order was delayed due to a controversy. The order was finally bestowed in a ceremony at Malacañang Palace in November 2013. Unfortunately, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts does not reveal their deliberations and list of candidates received.

Music
Alfredo Buenaventura (1942–1982)
Carmencita Lozada (1940–2006)
Emil Mijares (1935–2007)
Francis Magalona (1964–2009)
Fred Panopio (1939–2010)
Ricardo Zamora (1926–2011)
Rudy Villanueva (1940–2024)
Pilita Corrales (1939–2025)
Freddie Aguilar (1953–2025)
Max Surban (1939–)
Jose Mari Chan (1945–)
Eva Eugenio (1946–)
Raul Sunico (1948–)
Gerard Salonga (1973–)
Asin (band formed in 1976)

Dance
Carmen Dakudao Locsin (1918–2005)
Paz Cielo Belmonte (1916–2013)
Rosalia Merino Santos (1923–2021)
Teresita Veloso Pil (1926–)

Theater
Pio Kabahar (1892–1977)
Bienvenido Noriega Jr. (1952–1994)
Zenaida Amador (1933–2008)
Susan Roces (1941–2022)
Gloria Sevilla (1932–2022)
Mike Enriquez (1951–2023)
Jaclyn Jose (1963–2024)
Gloria Romero (1933–2025)
Tony Velasquez (1910–1997)
Paco Gorospe (1939–2002)
Nonoy Marcelo (1939–2002)
Honesto Vitug (1908–2003)
Rafael Pacheco (1933–2017)
Fil Delacruz (1950–)
Rudy Villanueva (1940–2024)
Greg Brillantes (1932–2025)
Zeus Salazar (1934–)
Jose Bragado (1936–)
Isagani Cruz (1945–)
Marjorie Evasco (1953–)
Jose Dalisay Jr. (1954–)
Ambeth Ocampo (1961–)
Gina Apostol (1963–)

Architecture
Fernando Ocampo (1897–1984)
Carlos Santos-Viola (1912–1994)
Gabriel Formoso (1915–1996)
Aida Cruz-Del Rosario (1922–2024)
Lor Calma (1928–2026) became controversial when it was revealed that musician Ramon Santos had been dropped from the list of nominees short-listed in May that year by the selection committee, and that four other individuals had been nominated via "President's prerogative": Cecile Guidote-Alvarez (Theater), Carlo J. Caparas (Visual Arts and Film), Francisco Mañosa (Architecture), and Pitoy Moreno (Fashion Design).

Members of the Philippine art community–including a number of living members of the Order–protested that the proclamation politicised the title of National Artist, and made it "a way for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to accommodate her allies." Specific protests were raised regarding the nomination of Guidote-Alvarez, who was also executive director of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, because it was purportedly a breach of protocol and delicadeza (propriety), and of Caparas, on the grounds that he was unqualified for nomination under both the Visual Arts and the Film categories. On July 16, 2013, the controversy finally ended after the Supreme Court of the Philippines voted 12-1-2 that voided the four proclamations.

On June 20, 2014, five years after he was originally shortlisted in 2009, Ramon Santos was finally conferred National Artist for Music by President Benigno S. Aquino III. -->

References

External links

List of National Artists (NCCA). From the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) website.
National Artists Guidelines (NCCA)
The Order of National Artists – from the Official Gazette of the Philippines (Office of the President)
National Artists in Waiting: Six in a Fix

Definition

Categories

Criteria

Benefits

Roster of National Artists

References

External links