# 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 2, 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.

## 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:
* Living artists who have been Filipino citizens for the last ten years prior to nomination as well as those who have died after the establishment of the Award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at the time of their death;
* Artists who have helped build a Filipino sense of nationhood through the content and form of their works;
* Artists who have distinguished themselves by pioneering in a mode of creative expression or style, making an impact on succeeding generations of artists;
* Artists who have created a significant body of works and/or have consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form, enriching artistic expression or style; and
* Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through prestigious national and/or international recognition, Award in prestigious national and/or international events, critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works, and/or respect and esteem from peers within an artistic discipline.
Nominations are then submitted to the National Artist Secretariat which is created by the National Artist Award Committee; experts from different art fields then sit on a First Deliberation to prepare the short list of nominees. A Second Deliberation, which is a joint meeting of the Commissioners of the NCCA and the Board of Trustees of the CCP, decides on the final nominees. The list is then forwarded to the President of the Philippines, who, by Presidential Proclamation, proclaims the final nominees as members of the Order of National Artists.

## 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

| President | Year | Awardee | Province | Category | Notes |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1972 | Fernando Cueto Amorsolo (1892–1972) | Manila | Visual Arts – Painting | posthumous conferment |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1973 | Francisca Santos Reyes-Aquino (1899–1983) | Bulacan | Dance | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1973 | Carlos Modesto "Botong" Villaluz Francisco (1912–1969) | Rizal | Visual Arts – Painting | posthumous conferment |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1973 | Amado Vera Hernández (1903–1970) | Manila | Literature | posthumous conferment |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1973 | Antonio Jesus Naguiat Molina (1894–1980) | Manila | Music | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1973 | Juan Felipe de Jesus Nakpil (1899–1986) | Manila | Architecture | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1973 | Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (1890–1976) | Bulacan | Visual Arts – Sculpture | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1973 | José García Villa (1908–1997) | Manila | Literature | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1976 | Napoleón "Billy" Veloso Abueva (1930–2018) | Bohol | Visual Arts – Sculpture | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1976 | Leonor Luna Orosa-Goquingco (1917–2005) | Batangas | Dance | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1976 | Lamberto Vera Avellana (1915–1991) | Mountain Province | Film and Theater | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1976 | Nicomedes "Nick" Márquez Joaquín (1917–2004) | Manila | Literature | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1976 | Jovita Flores Fuentes (1895–1978) | Capiz | Music | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1976 | Victorio Cándido Edades (1895–1985) | Pangasinan | Visual Arts – Painting | |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1976 | Pablo Sebero Antonio Sr. (1901–1975) | Manila | Architecture | posthumous conferment |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1981 | Vicente Silva Manansala (1910–1981) | Pampanga | Visual Arts – Painting | posthumous conferment |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1982 | Gerardo "Gerry" Ilagan de Leon (1913–1981) | Manila | Film | posthumous conferment |
| Ferdinand Marcos | 1982 | Carlos Peña Rómulo (1898–1985) | Tarlac | Literature | |
| Corazon Aquino | 1987 | Honorata "Atang" Márquez de la Rama-Hernández (1902–1991) | Manila | Theater and Music | |
| Corazon Aquino | 1988 | Antonino Ramírez Buenaventura (1904–1996) | Bulacan | Music | |
| Corazon Aquino | 1988 | Lucrecia Faustino Reyes-Urtula (1929–1999) | Iloilo | Dance | |
| Corazon Aquino | 1989 | Lucrecia Roces Kasilag (1918–2008) | La Union | Music | |
| Corazon Aquino | 1990 | Zacarias Francisco "Franz" Quino Arcellana (1916–2002) | Manila | Literature | |
| Corazon Aquino | 1990 | Cesar Torrente Legaspi (1917–1994) | Manila | Visual Arts – Painting | |
| Corazon Aquino | 1990 | Leandro Valencia Locsín (1928–1994) | Negros Occidental | Architecture | |
| Corazon Aquino | 1991 | Hernando Ruiz Ocampo (1911–1978) | Manila | Visual Arts – Painting | posthumous conferment |
| Corazon Aquino | 1991 | Lucio Diestro San Pedro Sr. (1913–2002) | Rizal | Music | |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | Catalino "Lino" Ortiz Brocka (1939–1991) | Sorsogon | Film | posthumous conferment |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | Felipe Padilla de León (1912–1992) | Nueva Ecija | Music | posthumous conferment |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | Wilfrido María Barredo Guerrero (1911–1995) | Manila | Theater | posthumous conferment |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | Rolando Santos Tinio (1937–1997) | Manila | Theater and Literature | posthumous conferment |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | Néstor Vicente Madali González (1915–1999) | Romblon | Literature | |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | Levi Celerio Cruz (1910–2002) | Manila | Music & Literature | |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | Arturo Rogerio Luz (1926–2021) | Manila | Visual Arts – Painting | |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | José Montserrat Maceda (1917–2004) | Manila and Laguna | Music | |
| Fidel V. Ramos | 1997 | Carlos Lozada Quirino (1910–1999) | Manila | Historical Literature | |
| Joseph Estrada | 1999 | Jerry Navarro Elizalde (1924–1999) | Antique | Visual Arts – Painting | posthumous conferment |
| Joseph Estrada | 1999 | Ernani Joson Cuenco (1936–1988) | Bulacan | Music | posthumous conferment |
| Joseph Estrada | 1999 | Andrea Carriaga Ofilada-Veneracion (1928–2013) | Manila | Music | |
| Joseph Estrada | 1999 | Edith Cutaran López-Tiempo (1919–2011) | Nueva Vizcaya and Negros Oriental | Literature | |
| Joseph Estrada | 1999 | Daisy Pardo Hontiveros-Avellana (1917–2013) | Capiz | Theater | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2001 | Ishmael Bernal (1938–1996) | Manila | Film | posthumous conferment |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2001 | Severino Tabat Montano (1915–1980) | Ilocos Norte | Theater | posthumous conferment |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2001 | Francisco Sionil José (1924–2022) | Pangasinan | Literature | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2001 | Ang Kiukok (1931–2005) | Davao del Sur | Visual Arts – Painting | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2003 | José Tanig Joya (1931–1995) | Manila | Visual Arts – Painting | posthumous conferment |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2003 | Virgilio Senadrin Almario (b. 1944) | Bulacan | Literature | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2003 | Alejandro Reyes Roces (1924–2011) | Manila | Literature | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2003 | Edgar Sinco Romero (1924–2013) | Negros Oriental | Film and Broadcast Arts | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2003 | Salvador Floro Bernal (1945–2011) | Pangasinan | Theater and Design | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2006 | Benedicto Reyes Cabrera (b. 1942) | Manila | Visual Arts – Painting | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2006 | Abdulmari Asia Imao (1936–2014) | Sulu | Visual Arts – Sculpture | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2006 | Bienvenido Lumbera (1932–2021) | Batangas | Literature | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2006 | Ramon Arevalo Obusan (1938–2006) | Albay | Dance | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2006 | Ildefonso Paez Santos Jr. (1929–2014) | Manila | Architecture – Landscape | |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2006 | Ronald Allan "Fernando" Kelley Poe Jr. (1939–2004) | Manila | Film | posthumous conferment |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2006 | Ramón Oswald Valera (1912–1972) | Abra | Fashion Design | posthumous conferment |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2009 | Manuel Pabustan Urbano (Manuel Conde) (1915–1985) | Camarines Norte | Film and Broadcast Arts | posthumous conferment |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2009 | Lázaro Ángeles Francisco (1898–1980) | Bataan | Literature | posthumous conferment |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2009 | Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (1932–2011) | Manila | Visual Arts – Painting, Sculpture and Mixed Media | posthumous conferment |
| Benigno Aquino III | 2014 | Alice García Reyes van Doorn (b. 1942) | Manila | Dance | |
| Benigno Aquino III | 2014 | Francisco Vicente Coching (1919–1998) | Manila | Visual Arts | posthumous conferment |
| Benigno Aquino III | 2014 | Cirilo Francisco Bautista (1941–2018) | Manila | Literature | |
| Benigno Aquino III | 2014 | Francisco Espíritu Feliciano (1941–2014) | Rizal | Music | posthumous conferment |
| Benigno Aquino III | 2014 | Ramón Pagayon Santos (b. 1941) | Manila | Music | |
| Benigno Aquino III | 2014 | José María Vélez Zaragoza (1912–1994) | Manila | Architecture | posthumous conferment |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2018 | Raymundo Cipriano "Ryan" Pujante Cayabyab (b. 1954) | Manila | Music | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2018 | Francisco "Bobby" Tronqued Mañosa (1931–2019) | Manila | Architecture and Allied Arts | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2018 | Ramón Larupay Muzones (1913–1992) | Iloilo | Literature | posthumous conferment |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2018 | Resil Buagas Mojares (b. 1943) | Zamboanga del Norte/Cebu | Literature | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2018 | Lauro "Larry" Zarate Alcala (1926–2002) | Albay | Visual Arts | posthumous conferment |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2018 | Amelia Ramolete Lapeña-Bonifacio (1930–2020) | Manila | Theater | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2018 | Eric Oteyza de Guia (Kidlat Tahimik) (b. 1942) | Benguet | Film and Broadcast Arts | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2022 | Nora Cabaltera Villamayor "Aunor" (b. 1953) | Camarines Sur | Film and Broadcast Arts | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2022 | Agnes Dakudao Locsin (b. 1957) | Davao | Dance | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2022 | Fides Belza Cuyugan-Asensio (b. 1931) | Quezon | Music | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2022 | Ricardo "Ricky" Arreola Lee (b. 1948) | Camarines Norte | Film and Broadcast Arts | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2022 | Gémino Henson Abad (b. 1939) | Manila | Literature | |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2022 | Antonio "Tony" Ocampo Mabesa (1935–2019) | Laguna | Theater | posthumous conferment |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2022 | Marilou Correa Diaz-Abaya (1955–2012) | Manila | Film and Broadcast Arts | posthumous conferment |
| Rodrigo Duterte | 2022 | Salvacion Navera Lim-Higgins (1920–1990) | Albay | Fashion Design | posthumous conferment |
^1 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. .
^2 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.

## 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.
The following list features noted personalities nominated for their respective fields:

## 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.