National Artist of the Philippines

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. ==Categories==

Categories under which National Artists can be recognized originally included: • Music – singing, composition, direction, and/or performance; • Dance – choreography, direction and/or performance; • Theater – direction, performance and/or production design; • Contemporary Arts – painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation art, mixed media works, illustration, graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging; • Literature – poetry, fiction, essay, playwriting, journalism and/or literary criticism; • Film and Broadcasting/Broadcast Arts – direction, writing, production design, cinematography, editing, camera work, and/or performance; and • Architecture, Design and Allied Arts – architecture design, interior design, industrial arts design, landscape architecture and fashion design. However, National Artists have since been honored under new categories. The NCCA created the category of National Artist for Fashion Design when it nominated Ramon Valera, but subsumed that category under "Architecture, Design and Allied Arts". President Fidel V. Ramos issued an executive order creating the category of National Artist for Historical Literature before conferring the honor to Carlos Quirino. ==Criteria==

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==

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.{{cite web|url=https://entertainment.inquirer.net/54430/aquino-confers-order-of-national-artist-for-cinema-to-late-fernando-poe-jr |title=Aquino confers Order of National Artist for Cinema on late Fernando Poe Jr. 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. • Music • Levi Celério • Ernani Joson Cuenco • Felipe Padilla de León • Francisco Feliciano • Lucrecia R. Kasilag • José Maceda • Antonio J. Molina • Lucio D. San Pedro • Ramón Santos • Andrea O. Veneración • Antonino R. Buenaventura • Jovita Fuentes • Ryan Cayabyab • Fides Cuyugan-Asensio • Dance • Francisca Reyes Aquino • Leonor Orosa-Goquingco • Ramón Obusan • Alice Reyes • Lucrecia Reyes Urtula • Agnes Locsin • Theater • Daisy Avellana • Honorata "Atang" de la Rama • Rolando S. Tínio • Salvador F. Bernál (Set Design) • Lamberto V. Avellana • Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero • Severino Montano • Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio • Tony Mabesa • Architecture • Pablo Antonio (Architecture) • Juan Nakpíl (Architecture) • Leandro V. Locsín (Architecture) • Francisco Mañosa (Architecture) • I. P. Santos (Architecture) • José María Zaragoza (Architecture) • Fashion Design • Ramón Valera (Fashion Design) • Salvacion Lim-Higgins (Fashion Design) • Historical Literature • Carlos Quirino • Visual Arts • Napoleón V. Abueva (Sculpture) • Larry Alcala (Comics) • Fernando C. Amorsolo (Painting) • Benedicto "BenCab" Reyes Cabrera (Painting) • Francisco Coching (Comics) • Victorio C. Edades (Painting) • Carlos "Botong" V. Francisco (Painting) • Abdulmari Asia Imao (Sculpture) • Jose T. Joya (Painting) • Ang Kiukok (Painting) • César Legaspi (Painting) • Arturo R. Luz (Painting) • Vicente S. Manansala (Painting) • J. Navarro Elizalde (Painting) • Hernándo R. Ocampo (Painting) • Guillermo E. Tolentino (Sculpture) • Federico Aguilar Alcuáz (Painting, Sculpture, and Mixed Media) • Literature • Francisco Arcellana • Virgilio S. Almario • Cirilo F. Bautista • N. V. M. Gonzalez • Ramon Muzones • Amado V. Hernández • Nick Joaquín • F. Sioníl José • Bienvenido Lumbera • Resil Mojares • Alejándro R. Roces • Carlos P. Rómulo • Edith L. Tiempo • José García Villa • Lázaro Francisco • Gemino Abad • Film and Broadcast Arts • Lino Brocka • Ishmael Bernál • Gerardo de León • Eddie S. Romero • Fernando Poe Jr. • Manuel Conde • Kidlat Tahimik • Nora Aunor • Marilou Diaz-Abaya • Ricky Lee ==Nominations==

Since the establishment in 1972 of the order for artists who have contributed largely in their respective fields, government and non-government cultural organizations and educational institutes have nominated candidates deemed eligible and worthy of such recognition. 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) • Felino Palafox (1950–) • Fashion Design • Joe Salazar (1944–2004) • Aureo Alonzo (1928–2014) • Pitoy Moreno (1925–2018) • Ben Farrales (1932–2021) • Auggie Cordero (1944–2022) • Christian Espiritu (1934–2023) • Patis Tesoro (1950–) • Inno Sotto (1969–) • Dennis Lustico (1970–) • Michael Cinco (1971–) • Puey Quiñones (1980–) ==2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy==

In August 2009, the conferment of the Order of National Artists on seven individuals by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 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. ==See also==