CPAR

• The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is the prime government agency that safeguards, develops, and promotes Filipino culture through the formulation and implementation of enabling policies and programs as well as the administration of endowment funds for culture and arts
• The NCCA was organized under Republic Act No. 7356 dated April 2, 1992 and given broad responsibilities over the development and promotion of the Filipino national culture and the arts
• Proclamation No. 1144 dated May 15, 1973 and Presidential Decree No. 208 issued on June 7, 1973 named the CCP Board of Trustees as the National Artist Awards Committee
• The Order of National Artist (Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) was established under Proclamation No. 1001 dated April 27, 1972
• The Order of National Artist

  Aims to recognize Filipino artists who have made significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the country, Filipino artistic accomplishment at its highest level and to promote creative expression as significant to the development of a national cultural identity, and Filipino artists who have dedicated their lives to their works to forge new paths and directions for future generations of Filipino artists
• Criteria for the Order of National Artist

  • Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination, as well as those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at the time of their death
  • Artists who, through the content and form of their works, have contributed in building a Filipino sense of nationhood
  • Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style, thus earning distinction and making an impact on succeeding generations of artists
  • Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of work and/or consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form thus enriching artistic expression or style
  • Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through prestigious national and/or international recognition, critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works, and respect and esteem from peers
• The insignia of the Order of National Artists

  Composed of a Grand Collar featuring circular links portraying the arts, and an eight-pointed conventionalized sunburst suspended from a sampaguita wreath in green and white enamel
• The insignia represents "katotohanan, kabutihan, at kagandahan"
• Benefits for National Artists

  • Cash award of 200,000 PHP for living awardees and 150,000 PHP for posthumous awardees, given to his/her legal heir(s)
  • Monthly pension and medical and hospitalization benefits
  • Life insurance for awardees who are still insurable
  • A state funeral and burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani
  • A place of honor, in line with the protocolar precedence at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events
• National Artist for Visual Arts - Fernando Amorsolo

  The country's first National Artist, known as the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Art", his citation underscores all his years of creative activity which have "defined and perpetuated a distinct element of the nation's artistic and cultural heritage"
• National Artist for Visual Arts - Cesar Legaspi


  A pioneer "Neo-Realist" of the country, remembered for his singular achievement of refining cubism in the Philippine context, his distinctive style and daring themes contributed significantly to the advent and eventual acceptance of modern art in the Philippines
• National Artist for Visual Arts - Benedicto Cabrera


  A "Contemporary Artist" who upheld the primacy of drawing over the decorative color, capturing the delicate movements and raw emotions of actual living figures or at least of his memories from his encounters, a scavenger named Sabel is a symbol of dislocation, despair (hopelessness) & isolation – the personification of human dignity threatened by circumstances
• National Artist for Visual Arts - Lauro "Larry" Alcala


  His comic strips spiced up the slices of Filipino lives with witty illustrations executed throughout his 56 years of cartooning, Slice of Life, not only made for decades long of widely circulated images of Filipino everyday life
• National Artist for Literature - Nick Joaquin


  Explored the Philippine colonial past under Spain, enriched the English language with critics coining "Joaquinesque"
• National Artist for Literature - Carlos P. Romulo


  The first Asian president of the United Nations General Assembly, then Philippine Ambassador to Washington, D.C., the only Asian to win America's coveted Pulitzer Prize in Journalism, wrote and published 18 books, a range of literary works which included novels, autobiography, war-time memoirs
• National Artist for Sculpture - Napoleon Abueva


  The "Father of Modern Filipino Sculpture", the youngest national artist awardee, considered as the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture, helped shape the local sculpture scene, referred to as "buoyant sculpture" sculpture meant to be appreciated from the surface
• National Artist for Architecture - Juan F. Nakpil


  Rebuilt and enlarged the Quiapo Church in 1930 adding a dome and a second belfry to the original design, designed the Ramon Magsaysay Center, Rizal Theater, and UP Quezon Hall
• National Artist for Architecture - Pablo S. Antonio Jr.


  Pioneered modern Philippine architecture, his basic design is grounded on simplicity, no clutter, with maximum use of natural light and cross ventilation
• National Artist for Architecture - Leandro V. Locsin


  Believes that the true Philippine Architecture is "the product of two great streams of culture, the oriental and the occidental… to produce a new object of profound harmony", produced 75 residences and 88 buildings, including 11 churches and chapels, 23 public buildings, 48 commercial buildings, six major hotels, and an airport terminal building
• National Artist for Architecture - Ildefonso P. Santos Jr.

  Distinguished himself by pioneering the practice of landscape architecture in the Philippines and then producing four decades of exemplary and engaging work that has included hundreds of parks, plazas, gardens, and a wide range of outdoor settings that have enhanced contemporary Filipino life
• National Artist for Architecture - Jose Maria V. Zaragoza

  A pillar of modern architecture in Philippines buttressed by a half-century career that produced ecclesiastical edifices and structures of modernity in the service of God and humanity, his prolificacy in designing religious edifices was reflected in his body of work that was predominated by about 45 churches and religious centers
• National Artist for Architecture - Francisco T. Manosa


  His vision of Philippine Architecture was inspired by the bahay kubo and the bahay na bato, when asked what makes architecture truly Filipino, he once answered: "Filipino values, Philippine climate, and the use of indigenous materials"
• National Artist for Fashion Design - Ramon Valera


  Gave the country its visual icon to the world via the terno, unified the components of the baro't saya into a single dress, constructed the terno's butterfly sleeves, giving them a solid, built-in but hidden support
• National Artist for Dance - Alice Reyes


  Initiated the popularization of modern dance in the country through her first modern dance concert at the CCP Main Theater in February 1970 featuring an all contemporary dance repertoire, organized outreach tours, lecture demonstrations, television promotions, a subscription season and children's matinee series to build an audience base for Ballet Philippines and modern dance
• National Artist for Dance - Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula


  A choreographer, dance educator and researcher, spent almost four decades in the discovery and study of Philippine folk and ethnic dances, choreographed critically acclaimed suites of mountain dances, Spanish influenced dances, Muslim pageants and festivals, regional variations and dances of the countryside for the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company
• National Artist for Music - Jovita Fuentes


  First Filipina to perform in an opera internationally, portrayed the role of Cio-cio san in Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly at Italy's Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, founded the Artists' Guild of the Philippines
• National Artist for Music - Honorata "Atang" dela Rama


  First actress to star in the very first locally produced Filipino film, her most rewarding and satisfying role was that of an orphan in Pangarap ni Rosa which she played with realism, known as the Queen of Filipino Zarzuela and Reyna ng Kundiman
• National Artist for Music - Ryan Cayabyab


  The most accomplished composer, arranger, and musical director in the Philippine music industry since the 1970s, his compositions reflect a perspective of music that extols the exuberance of life and human happiness, capturing the very essence of our Filipino soul
• National Artist for Cinema - Lino Brocka


  Director for film and broadcast arts, espoused the term "freedom of expression" in the Philippine Constitution, took his social activist spirit to the screen which breathed life and hope for the marginalized sectors of society — slum dwellers, prostitute, construction workers, etc
• National Artist for Cinema - Ronald Allan K. Poe "FPJ"


  A cultural icon of tremendous audience impact and cinema artist and craftsman–as actor, director, writer and producer, known for films like Ang Alamat, Ang Pagbabalik ng Lawin, Panday series, and action adventure films adapted from komiks materials
• National Artist for Cinema - Kidlat Tahimik


  Continually invented himself through his cinema, his "imperfect" film is an exemplar of what is worldwide known as "Third Cinema," a cinema that is critical of neocolonial exploitation and state oppression, but unlike other Third Cinema films, Kidlat's work does not glory in ugliness
• National Artist for Theater - Daisy H. Avellana


  An actor, director and writer who elevated legitimate theater and dramatic arts to a new level of excellence by staging and performing in breakthrough productions of classic Filipino and foreign plays and by encouraging the establishment of performing groups and the professionalization of Filipino theater
• National Artist for Theater - Salvador F. Bernal


  Designed more than 300 productions distinguished for their originality, sensitive to the budget limitations of local productions, he harnessed the design potential of inexpensive local materials, pioneering or maximizing the use of bamboo, raw abaca, and abaca fiber, hemp twine, rattan chain links and gauze cacha, shared his skills with younger designers through his classes and programs
• National Artist for Theater - Amelia L. Bonifacio


  Known as the Grand Dame of Southeast Asian children's theatre, the founder and playwright of the Repertory Philippines Children's Theater
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  Encouraging the establishment of performing groups and the professionalization of Filipino theater
• Salvador F. Bernal


  Designed more than 300 productions distinguished for their originality, sensitive to the budget limitations of local productions, harnessed the design potential of inexpensive local materials, pioneering or maximizing the use of bamboo, raw abaca, and abaca fiber, hemp twine, rattan chain links and gauze cacha
• Amelia L. Bonifacio


  Known as the Grand Dame of Southeast Asian children's theatre, founder and playwright-director of the Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, involved in the production and design of puppets, achieved an indigenous fusion of puppetry, children's literature, folklore, and theater
• GAMABA


  Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan, National Living Treasure Award, Republic Act. No. 7355, April 1992, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Bayan Executive Council
• Ad Hoc Panel of Experts

  Assists the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Executive Council in the fair selection of potential awardees, members are experts in traditional and folk arts categories, term expires upon completion of the search and selection process
• Manlilikha ng Bayan


  A citizen engaged in any traditional Art uniquely Filipino, whose distinctive skills have reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence, have been passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in his/her community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence