GAMABA

• GAMABA. Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan
• Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan also known as the National Living Treasures, is the award given to a person or a group of artists that is recognized by the Philippine government for their contributions to the nation’s cultural heritage.
• The National Living Treasures Award (Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan) was institutionalized in 1992 through Republic Act No. 7355.
• The National Commission for Culture and the Arts, which is the highest policy-making and coordinating body of the Philippines for culture and the arts, was tasked with the implementation and awarding.
• This is in line with UNESCO's criteria of Living National Treasures.
• He/she is an inhabitant of an indigenous/traditional cultural community anywhere in the Philippines that has preserved indigenous customs, beliefs, rituals and traditions and/or has syncretized whatever external elements that have influenced it
• He/she must have engaged in a folk art tradition that has been in existence and documented for at least fifty (50) years.
• He/she must have consistently performed or produced over a significant period, works of superior and distinctive quality.
• He/she must possess a mastery of tools and materials needed by the art and must have an established reputation in the art as master and maker of works of extraordinary technical quality.
• He/she must have passed on and/or will pass on to other members of the community their skills in the folk art for which the community is traditionally known
• However, a candidate who, due to age or infirmity, has left him/her/them incapable of teaching further his/her/their craft, may still be recognized provided that he/she/they must possess the qualifications as enumerated above.
• The ‘Manlilikha ng Bayan’ Award is provided for the following categories:

  • Folk Architecture
  • Maritime Transportation
  • Weaving
  • Carving
  • Performing Arts
  • Literature
  • Graphic and Plastic Arts
  • Ornament
  • Textile or Fabric Art
  • Pottery
  • Ethnomedicine
• Rewards and Benefits for “Manlilikha ng Bayan ”

  • The awardee receives a specially designed gold medallion
• Rewards and Benefits for “Manlilikha ng Bayan ”

  • An initial grant of Php 100,000
• Rewards and Benefits for “Manlilikha ng Bayan”

  • Php 10,000 monthly stipend for life
• Rewards and Benefits for “Manlilikha ng Bayan”

  • Additional personal allowance of Php 14,000 if there is a need
• Rewards and Benefits for “Manlilikha ng Bayan”

  • Php 750,000 medical and hospitalization annual benefits
• The Process of Selecting the “Manlilikha ng Bayan " Awardee

  1. An Ad Hoc panel of Experts shall be deployed in the different regions to conduct a thorough search and selection of candidates in the varied traditional folk arts category
• The Process of Selecting the “Manlilikha ng Bayan " Awardee

  Documentation of candidatenominees for the GAMABA.
• The Process of Selecting the “Manlilikha ng Bayan " Awardee

  Guided by the criteria and qualifications for becoming a Manililikha ng Bayan set by the rules and regulations in the law the final list of nominees will be submitted to the Ad Hoc Panel of Experts.
• The Process of Selecting the “Manlilikha ng Bayan " Awardee

  4. The Ad Hoc Screening Committee shall recommend nominees for the award to an Ad Hoc Panel of Reviewers
• The Process of Selecting the “Manlilikha ng Bayan " Awardee

  5. The Ad Hoc panel of Reviewers shall evaluate qualifications of the nominees. The documentation submitted by the Ad Hoc Search Committees shall be considered in the evaluation process.
• The Process of Selecting the “Manlilikha ng Bayan " Awardee

  6. The Ad Hoc panel of Reviewers shall evaluate qualifications of the nominees. The documentation submitted by the Ad Hoc Search Committees shall be considered in the evaluation process.
• The Process of Selecting the “Manlilikha ng Bayan " Awardee

  7. The names of the GAMABA awardees approved by the NCCA Board shall be submitted to the President of the Philippines for proclamation.
• Ginaw Bilog. Born on January 3, 1953 is a Hanunoo Mangyan from Mansalay, Mindoro. He initiated the preservation of the Ambahan which is the key to the exploration of the Mangyan soul . Ambahan is a poetic literary form comprised of seven- syllable lines.
• Ambahan. in baybayin is a pre-colonial script which is a poetic literary form engraved in bamboo and the like with the use of stylus or knives.
• Masino Intaray. A gifted poet, epic chanter, storyteller and musician from Makagwa Valley, Palawan. A master of traditional music instruments such as basal, kulilaland bagit. He is also an expert in the aroding (mouth harp) and babarak or ring flute
• Samaon Sulaiman. at age 35 is the most honored kutyapi master and teacher in Maganoy, Mindanao as he is very proficient in the kulintang, agong or suspended bosses gong with wide rim, tambul gandingan or bossed gong with narrow rim.
• Lang Dulay. A master textile weaver from T'boli, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, was only 12 when she first learned how to weave using Abaca fibers.
• Salinta Monon. A Bagobo born on December 12, 1920, at Bansalan, Davao del Sur, at 12 desired to be taught how to weave. She developed a keen eye for traditional designs, and at the age of 65, she can still identify a design at a glance
• Alonzo Saclag. From Lubuagan, Kalinga, devoted his energy to the preservation of artifacts such as the Kalinga gong or the gangsa to revive these dying treasures.
• Federico Caballero. an epic-chanter from Kalinog, Iloilo and from the mountains of Central Panay who ceaselessly worked for the documentation of the epics and oral literature of his people. He preserved and promoted the encyclopedic folklore of Panay.
• Uwang Ahadas. a Yakan from Lamitan, Basilan who values many musical instruments because he was nearly blind. From the gabbang, a bamboo xylophone, his skills progressed to the playing of the agung, the kwintangan kayu, and later other more complex instruments.
• Darhata Sawabi. a weaver of pis syabit which is the traditional cloth tapestry worn as a head cover by the Tausugs of Jolo, Sulu.
• Eduardo Mutuc. From Apalit, Pampanga, is an artist who has dedicated his life to creating religious and secular art in silver, bronze, and wood. His intricately detailed retablos, mirrors, altars, and carosas are in churches and private collections.