2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy
Encyclopedia
The 2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy refers to the controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four had not been nominated by the selection committee, composed of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts
(NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines
(CCP).
The title National Artist of the Philippines
is given to a Filipino
who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts, namely, Music
, Dance
, Theater, Visual Arts
, Literature
, Film
, Broadcast Arts
, Fashion Design
and Architecture
, and Allied Arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist, having been conferred membership in the Order of National Artists. Benefits they enjoy from then on include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.
Members of the Philippine art community, including a number of living National Artists of the Philippines, protested that the proclamation politicized the title of National artist, and made it "a way for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to accommodate her allies."
Film director Eddie Romero
, himself a National Artist for Film and the Broadcast Arts, explained in an interview that the rules allow the President to pick a National Artist. He noted, however, that:
National Artist for literature chairman of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines Bienvenido Lumbera
, said that in the 2009 nominations, there was
In addition, specific protests were raised regarding the nomination of NCCA executive director Guidote-Alvarez, because it was purportedly a breach of protocol and propriety, and of Carlo Caparas, because protestors assert that he is not qualified to be nominated under either the "Visual Arts" or "Film" categories in which he was proclaimed to the order.
Calling the situation "outrageous", he said that :
The 2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy refers to the controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four had not been nominated by the selection committee, composed of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts
(NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines
(CCP).
The title National Artist of the Philippines
is given to a Filipino
who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts, namely, Music
, Dance
, Theater, Visual Arts
, Literature
, Film
, Broadcast Arts
, Fashion Design
and Architecture
, and Allied Arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist, having been conferred membership in the Order of National Artists. Benefits they enjoy from then on include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.
Members of the Philippine art community, including a number of living National Artists of the Philippines, protested that the proclamation politicized the title of National artist, and made it "a way for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to accommodate her allies."
Film director Eddie Romero
, himself a National Artist for Film and the Broadcast Arts, explained in an interview that the rules allow the President to pick a National Artist. He noted, however, that:
National Artist for literature chairman of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines Bienvenido Lumbera
, said that in the 2009 nominations, there was
In addition, specific protests were raised regarding the nomination of NCCA executive director Guidote-Alvarez, because it was purportedly a breach of protocol and propriety, and of Carlo Caparas, because protestors assert that he is not qualified to be nominated under either the "Visual Arts" or "Film" categories in which he was proclaimed to the order.
Calling the situation "outrageous", he said that :
The 2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy refers to the controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four had not been nominated by the selection committee, composed of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts
(NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines
(CCP).
The title National Artist of the Philippines
is given to a Filipino
who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts, namely, Music
, Dance
, Theater, Visual Arts
, Literature
, Film
, Broadcast Arts
, Fashion Design
and Architecture
, and Allied Arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist, having been conferred membership in the Order of National Artists. Benefits they enjoy from then on include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.
Members of the Philippine art community, including a number of living National Artists of the Philippines, protested that the proclamation politicized the title of National artist, and made it "a way for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to accommodate her allies."
Film director Eddie Romero
, himself a National Artist for Film and the Broadcast Arts, explained in an interview that the rules allow the President to pick a National Artist. He noted, however, that:
National Artist for literature chairman of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines Bienvenido Lumbera
, said that in the 2009 nominations, there was
In addition, specific protests were raised regarding the nomination of NCCA executive director Guidote-Alvarez, because it was purportedly a breach of protocol and propriety, and of Carlo Caparas, because protestors assert that he is not qualified to be nominated under either the "Visual Arts" or "Film" categories in which he was proclaimed to the order.
Calling the situation "outrageous", he said that :
Bienvenido Lumbera remarked that Caparas’ nomination was twice rejected by two NCAA panels:
director general Leo Martinez noted that "He was obviously added by Malacañang." Caparas is known as a vocal supporter of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The same report that quoted Lumbera also noted that "Santos still has not spoken about the whole brouhaha up to this day.[August 4, 2009] "
Protesters claim that they were not aware of the existence of such a committee, and that at first, they had no idea who precisely were supposed to be on the committee. According to them, nominating committees were made by the CCP and NCCA, and a final list of nominees was prepared by a joint committee. NCCA sub-commission on the arts head Ricardo de Ungria, one of the panelists involved in the selection process, insisted before a congressional committee meeting on the matter that the arts community “were never apprised of the existence of this animal since the start of the selection process this year or eight years ago.”
According to Malacañang and to Cecille Guidote-Alvarez,however, the selection process had always involved the participation of three committees - those of the CCP, the NCCA and the Malacañang honors committee, whose head was Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.
Other prominent critics include prominent Filipino Comic Book artist Gerry Alanguilan
, multiple Palanca Award laureate Lourd de Veyra
, Film Academy of the Philippines
Director General Leo Martinez (who had played a part in the original nomination process), and blogging social critic Vicente Soria de Veyra who wrote a series of blog essays against "the myth of the national artist".
He also said the administration would “stand by the qualifications, qualities, track record and reputation of those named as National Artists.”
Caparas said that instead of criticizing his award, entertainment people “should unite and work together to revive the ailing movie and komiks industry.” He attributed his win to the fact that he managed to cross over from comic books to film and television, and saying that his triumph was significant because he was a National Artist who came from the working class. “I am a National Artist who came from the masses," the Philippine Daily Inquirer
quoted him as saying. "I work and struggle with them.” He said it was time for a National Artist “who the masses can identify with—someone who walks beside them, someone who can inspire them.” Noting that some Filipinos did not even know the National Artists he said “Hopefully, since I am still active in TV and in the movies, this will encourage our countrymen to learn more about our National Artists.”
Others who have come to his defense include Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) director and former Movie and Television Ratings and Classification Board (MTRCB) chief Manoling Morato, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) head Dante Jimenez, boxing hero Manny Pacquiao
, Senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada
, Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino chair Joe Lad Santos, and Polytechnic University of the Philippines
president Dante Guevarra.
By August 1, 2009, it had been revealed by members of the final selection committee, comprising members from the NCCA and CCP, that only Conde, Alcuaz and Francisco had been short-listed by the selection committee in May. Alvarez, Caparas,Mañosa, and Moreno had been included via what was referred to as the "President’s prerogative". They also revealed that a fourth nominee, Ramon Santos (shortlisted for music), had not been conferred the order as recommended by committee – also supposedly part of the president's prerogative. Various artists' groups in the Philippines began to protest, notably the Concerned Artists of the Philippines. Over the next few days, previously conferred members of the Order of National Artists, notably Eddie Romero, F. Sionil Jose, Bienvenido Lumbera, Virgilio Almario, and BenCab A number of members of the Comic Book industry, notably Gerry Alanguilan
, also protested.
On August 6, Representatives Ana Theresia Hontiveros and Walden Bello
of the Akbayan Party-list filed House Resolution 1305 at the Philippine House of Representatives, calling for a congressional inquiry into the controversy to make sure that the choice of national artists would not be subject to the “whims" of ranking government officials. Hontiveros noted:
Also on August 15, the ABS CBN News Channel (ANC) hosted an episode of Cheche Lazaro
's Media in Focus, in which the controversial awardees in the person of Caparas and Alavarez were supposed to face off with protesting artists in the person of National Artist Eddie Romero, CCP Chair Emily Abrera, Palanca Award Hall of Fame Awardee Butch Dalisay, and film critic Alexis Tioseco. The first segment of the show allowed Caparas and Dalisay to air their side, while Alvarez was unable to arrive in time to join the second part of a show, which would have had her on a panel with Romero and Abrera, who were protesting the circumstances of her proclamation to of the order.
On August 7, protesters gathered at the front ramp of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
for a major protest action in the form of a mock “necrological service”. National Artists who joined the protesters were Napoleon Abueva (visual arts), Arturo Luz (visual arts), Ben Cabrera (visual arts), F. Sionil Jose (literature), Bienvenido Lumbera (literature), Virgilio Almario (literature) and Salvador Bernal (theater design). Relatives of deceased National Artists also participated in the event, with singer Celeste Legaspi
representing her late father Cesar Legaspi
(National Artist for visual arts), and Raul Locsin representing his late brother Leandro Locsin
(National Artist for architecture). Protesters offered black roses "to symbolize the death of the National Artist Awards."
During the protests, the Concerned Artists of the Philippines group, through its chair Lumbera informed the media that they “might seek court injunction" at the Supreme Court "against the proclamation of the new national artists."
After the mock ceremony, participants continued the protest with a motorcade which ended at the offices of the NCCA, where Alvarez serves as head. This led to loud verbal confrontations between protesters and supporters of Alvarez.
On August 19 a group of National Artists and supporters, led by National Artists for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera and Virgilio Almario, asked filed a 38-page petition at the Supreme Court "for prohibition, certiorari and injunction with prayer for restraining order to prevent the Palace from conferring the title to respondents," to stop "the release of the monetary benefits, entitlements and emoluments… to private respondents arising from such conferment," and the "holding of the acknowledgement ceremonies for their recognition." The petition asserted that:
On August 25 the Supreme Court issued a status quo order, stopping Malacañang from conferring the honor pending deliberation of the petition to disqualify Alvarez, Caparas, Mañosa, and Moreno. Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez noted that: "The court saw the urgency to issue the status quo order and stop the conferment of the awards. It has the same as a temporary restraining order."
The incident involving Caparas has also been the subject of vandalism in Wikipedia
, where anonymous editors and newly registered accounts maliciously edited the article, substituting the titles with nonsensical ones containing Tagalog
pejorative
s.
On August 31, 2009, Dalisay claimed in his column in The Philippine Star
that the NCCA web page regarding the selection process for national artists had been changed:
On September 14, 2009, the Philippines' House of Representatives
began its committee inquiry into the National Artist controversy. In her testimony before the committee, CCP director and lawyer Lorna Kapunan alleged that the Malacañang honors committee had not actually held a meeting to deliberate on the nominees, and that minutes of the said meeting were therefore forged. Alvarez denied the allegations, and insisted that the selection process for National Artists of the Philippines had always involved the participation of three committees – those of the CCP, the NCCA and the Malacañang honors committee.
On the same day, the CCP submitted to the Supreme Court its 31-page comment regarding the petition to disqualify the National Artists added by Malacañang to the list of nominees. The CCP reiterated its position that the four had not been in the original list of nominees. It also requested the Supreme Court to order the proclamation of its four original choices as 2009's National Artists.
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (Philippines)
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines is the official arts council for the Philippines.-History:In 1987, then President Corazon C. Aquino penned Executive Order No. 118 creating the Presidential Commission on Culture and Arts...
(NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Cultural Center of the Philippines
The Cultural Center of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos...
(CCP).
National Artist of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts...
is given to a Filipino
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts, namely, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, Theater, Visual Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Broadcast Arts
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, Fashion Design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
and Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, and Allied Arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist, having been conferred membership in the Order of National Artists. Benefits they enjoy from then on include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.
President’s prerogative
The controversy began when conferred the Order of National Artists to seven individuals in July, 2009. Controversy arose from the revelation that musician Ramon Santos had been dropped from the list of nominees short-listed in May that year by the selection committee, and four other individuals had been nominated to the title via "President’s prerogative" :- Cecilla Guidote-Alvarez (Theater),
- Magno Jose "Carlo” Caparas (Visual Arts and Film),
- Francisco MañosaFrancisco ManosaFrancisco Mañosa is a Filipino architect and national artist noted for his Filipino inspired architectural designs. He designed The Coconut Palace.Manosa, on May, 2008 built his own Ayala alabang village Bahay Kubo mansion...
(Architecture), and - Jose “Pitoy” Moreno (Fashion Design)
Members of the Philippine art community, including a number of living National Artists of the Philippines, protested that the proclamation politicized the title of National artist, and made it "a way for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to accommodate her allies."
Film director Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero is an acclaimed and influential Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter, considered one of the finest in the Cinema of the Philippines.Romero was named National Artist of the Philippines in 2003....
, himself a National Artist for Film and the Broadcast Arts, explained in an interview that the rules allow the President to pick a National Artist. He noted, however, that:
“It seems it’s the first time the presidential prerogative was used to declare four artists. It’s like a wholesale declaration.”
National Artist for literature chairman of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera is a prizewinning poet, critic and dramatist from the Philippines.He is a National Artist of the Philippines and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications...
, said that in the 2009 nominations, there was
“heavy campaigning because the government wanted to ensure the selection of four people.”
In addition, specific protests were raised regarding the nomination of NCCA executive director Guidote-Alvarez, because it was purportedly a breach of protocol and propriety, and of Carlo Caparas, because protestors assert that he is not qualified to be nominated under either the "Visual Arts" or "Film" categories in which he was proclaimed to the order.
Alvarez
Lumbera, who happened to be a member of the combined “final selection committee" of the NCAA and CCP, noted that:“It was Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, as executive director of the NCCA, who had insisted on the President’s right to add names that were not discussed in the committee.”
Calling the situation "outrageous", he said that :
“She should have not allowed herself to be named as national artist. She’s close to the President. Nobody in the committee thought that she deserved to be named."Alvarez heads the NCAA secretariat that receives nominations for national artists.
Caparas
Complaints regarding Caparas' proclamation centered on the complaints that he did not illustrate the comic books he wrote and therefore did not meet the qualifications for being honored under the visual arts category, and the assertion of protesting artists that his work in the category of Film is supposedly "sub-par", being largely "pito-pito"("seven-seven") films rush-finished in seven days, and "massacre films" whose focus was sensational crimes.The 2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy refers to the controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four had not been nominated by the selection committee, composed of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (Philippines)
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines is the official arts council for the Philippines.-History:In 1987, then President Corazon C. Aquino penned Executive Order No. 118 creating the Presidential Commission on Culture and Arts...
(NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Cultural Center of the Philippines
The Cultural Center of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos...
(CCP).
National Artist of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts...
is given to a Filipino
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts, namely, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, Theater, Visual Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Broadcast Arts
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, Fashion Design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
and Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, and Allied Arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist, having been conferred membership in the Order of National Artists. Benefits they enjoy from then on include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.
President’s prerogative
The controversy began when conferred the Order of National Artists to seven individuals in July, 2009. Controversy arose from the revelation that musician Ramon Santos had been dropped from the list of nominees short-listed in May that year by the selection committee, and four other individuals had been nominated to the title via "President’s prerogative" :- Cecilla Guidote-Alvarez (Theater),
- Magno Jose "Carlo” Caparas (Visual Arts and Film),
- Francisco MañosaFrancisco ManosaFrancisco Mañosa is a Filipino architect and national artist noted for his Filipino inspired architectural designs. He designed The Coconut Palace.Manosa, on May, 2008 built his own Ayala alabang village Bahay Kubo mansion...
(Architecture), and - Jose “Pitoy” Moreno (Fashion Design)
Members of the Philippine art community, including a number of living National Artists of the Philippines, protested that the proclamation politicized the title of National artist, and made it "a way for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to accommodate her allies."
Film director Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero is an acclaimed and influential Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter, considered one of the finest in the Cinema of the Philippines.Romero was named National Artist of the Philippines in 2003....
, himself a National Artist for Film and the Broadcast Arts, explained in an interview that the rules allow the President to pick a National Artist. He noted, however, that:
“It seems it’s the first time the presidential prerogative was used to declare four artists. It’s like a wholesale declaration.”
National Artist for literature chairman of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera is a prizewinning poet, critic and dramatist from the Philippines.He is a National Artist of the Philippines and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications...
, said that in the 2009 nominations, there was
“heavy campaigning because the government wanted to ensure the selection of four people.”
In addition, specific protests were raised regarding the nomination of NCCA executive director Guidote-Alvarez, because it was purportedly a breach of protocol and propriety, and of Carlo Caparas, because protestors assert that he is not qualified to be nominated under either the "Visual Arts" or "Film" categories in which he was proclaimed to the order.
Alvarez
Lumbera, who happened to be a member of the combined “final selection committee" of the NCAA and CCP, noted that:“It was Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, as executive director of the NCCA, who had insisted on the President’s right to add names that were not discussed in the committee.”
Calling the situation "outrageous", he said that :
“She should have not allowed herself to be named as national artist. She’s close to the President. Nobody in the committee thought that she deserved to be named."Alvarez heads the NCAA secretariat that receives nominations for national artists.
Caparas
Complaints regarding Caparas' proclamation centered on the complaints that he did not illustrate the comic books he wrote and therefore did not meet the qualifications for being honored under the visual arts category, and the assertion of protesting artists that his work in the category of Film is supposedly "sub-par", being largely "pito-pito"("seven-seven") films rush-finished in seven days, and "massacre films" whose focus was sensational crimes.The 2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy refers to the controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four had not been nominated by the selection committee, composed of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (Philippines)
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines is the official arts council for the Philippines.-History:In 1987, then President Corazon C. Aquino penned Executive Order No. 118 creating the Presidential Commission on Culture and Arts...
(NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Cultural Center of the Philippines
The Cultural Center of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos...
(CCP).
National Artist of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts...
is given to a Filipino
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts, namely, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, Theater, Visual Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Broadcast Arts
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, Fashion Design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
and Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, and Allied Arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist, having been conferred membership in the Order of National Artists. Benefits they enjoy from then on include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.
President’s prerogative
The controversy began when conferred the Order of National Artists to seven individuals in July, 2009. Controversy arose from the revelation that musician Ramon Santos had been dropped from the list of nominees short-listed in May that year by the selection committee, and four other individuals had been nominated to the title via "President’s prerogative" :- Cecilla Guidote-Alvarez (Theater),
- Magno Jose "Carlo” Caparas (Visual Arts and Film),
- Francisco MañosaFrancisco ManosaFrancisco Mañosa is a Filipino architect and national artist noted for his Filipino inspired architectural designs. He designed The Coconut Palace.Manosa, on May, 2008 built his own Ayala alabang village Bahay Kubo mansion...
(Architecture), and - Jose “Pitoy” Moreno (Fashion Design)
Members of the Philippine art community, including a number of living National Artists of the Philippines, protested that the proclamation politicized the title of National artist, and made it "a way for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to accommodate her allies."
Film director Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero is an acclaimed and influential Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter, considered one of the finest in the Cinema of the Philippines.Romero was named National Artist of the Philippines in 2003....
, himself a National Artist for Film and the Broadcast Arts, explained in an interview that the rules allow the President to pick a National Artist. He noted, however, that:
“It seems it’s the first time the presidential prerogative was used to declare four artists. It’s like a wholesale declaration.”
National Artist for literature chairman of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera is a prizewinning poet, critic and dramatist from the Philippines.He is a National Artist of the Philippines and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications...
, said that in the 2009 nominations, there was
“heavy campaigning because the government wanted to ensure the selection of four people.”
In addition, specific protests were raised regarding the nomination of NCCA executive director Guidote-Alvarez, because it was purportedly a breach of protocol and propriety, and of Carlo Caparas, because protestors assert that he is not qualified to be nominated under either the "Visual Arts" or "Film" categories in which he was proclaimed to the order.
Alvarez
Lumbera, who happened to be a member of the combined “final selection committee" of the NCAA and CCP, noted that:“It was Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, as executive director of the NCCA, who had insisted on the President’s right to add names that were not discussed in the committee.”
Calling the situation "outrageous", he said that :
“She should have not allowed herself to be named as national artist. She’s close to the President. Nobody in the committee thought that she deserved to be named."Alvarez heads the NCAA secretariat that receives nominations for national artists.
Caparas
Complaints regarding Caparas' proclamation centered on the complaints that he did not illustrate the comic books he wrote and therefore did not meet the qualifications for being honored under the visual arts category, and the assertion of protesting artists that his work in the category of Film is supposedly "sub-par", being largely "pito-pito"("seven-seven") films rush-finished in seven days, and "massacre films" whose focus was sensational crimes.>Bienvenido Lumbera remarked that Caparas’ nomination was twice rejected by two NCAA panels:
“Film Academy of the Philippines[Caparas] was first proposed as a nominee for literature, but the committee rejected him. He was again proposed as nominee for visual artist but the panel again turned him down."
Film Academy of the Philippines
Established in 1981, the Film Academy of the Philippines is the Philippines' official counterpart of the United States' Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The FAP was founded through Executive Order 640-A, signed by former President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos...
director general Leo Martinez noted that "He was obviously added by Malacañang." Caparas is known as a vocal supporter of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Committee-shortlisted nominees
Protestors, however, were careful to note that three of the individuals proclaimed as National Artist in 2009 were in fact recommended by the selection committee:- Manuel Urbano a.k.a Manuel CondeManuel CondeManuel Conde was born on October 15, 1915 in Daet, Camarines Norte . He was an actor, director and producer. As an actor, he also used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s aside from his more popular screen name. His first film was "Mahiwagang Biyolin" in 1935. He made almost three dozen...
(Film and Broadcast), - Lazaro Francisco (Literature), and
- Federico Aguilar AlcuazFederico Aguilar AlcuazFederico Aguilar Alcuaz was an award winning Filipino Painter who exhibited extensively Internationally and whose work earned him recognition both in the Philippines and abroad....
(Visual Arts, Painting, Sculpture and Mixed Media).
Non-inclusion of Ramon Santos
Protesters also lamented the dropping of musician Ramon Santos from the list of new National Artists. Philippine entertainment news website PEP says that a CCP official, who had asked not to be named, revealed that Santos actually won the most number of votes during the selection process. Lumbera verbalized dismay about the snubbing of Santos, saying:"What makes this even more outrageous is that Ramon Santos, who received a good number of votes in the panel selection, was dropped from the list. The basis for him being scrapped, one doesn't know"
The same report that quoted Lumbera also noted that "Santos still has not spoken about the whole brouhaha up to this day.
Malacañang Honors Committee
Another aspect of the controversy regards the existence and of the Palace Honors committee which allegedly prepared the final list of nominees, which was eventually enacted by Arroyo.Protesters claim that they were not aware of the existence of such a committee, and that at first, they had no idea who precisely were supposed to be on the committee. According to them, nominating committees were made by the CCP and NCCA, and a final list of nominees was prepared by a joint committee. NCCA sub-commission on the arts head Ricardo de Ungria, one of the panelists involved in the selection process, insisted before a congressional committee meeting on the matter that the arts community “were never apprised of the existence of this animal since the start of the selection process this year or eight years ago.”
According to Malacañang and to Cecille Guidote-Alvarez,however, the selection process had always involved the participation of three committees - those of the CCP, the NCCA and the Malacañang honors committee, whose head was Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.
Prominent protestors
Living National Artists of the Philippines who have protested the proclamation of the four new National Artists include:- Eddie RomeroEddie RomeroEddie Romero is an acclaimed and influential Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter, considered one of the finest in the Cinema of the Philippines.Romero was named National Artist of the Philippines in 2003....
- F. Sionil JoseF. Sionil JoséF. Sionil José or in full Francisco Sionil José is one of the most widely-read Filipino writers in the English language. His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in Filipino society...
, - Arturo Luz,
- Bienvenido LumberaBienvenido LumberaBienvenido Lumbera is a prizewinning poet, critic and dramatist from the Philippines.He is a National Artist of the Philippines and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications...
, - Virgilio Almario,
- BenCab, and
- Salvador BernalSalvador BernalSalvador Floro Bernal was an acclaimed artist from the Philippines.Bernal's career began in 1969. His output included over 300 productions in art, film and music, and earned him the award of National Artist for Theater and Design in 2003.-Notes:...
Other prominent critics include prominent Filipino Comic Book artist Gerry Alanguilan
Gerry Alanguilan
Doroteo Gerardo N. "Gerry" Alanguilan, Jr. , is a Filipino comic book artist and writer from San Pablo City, Laguna.- Career :...
, multiple Palanca Award laureate Lourd de Veyra
Lourd de Veyra
Lourd Ernest Hanopol de Veyra is a multi-awarded Filipino musician, emcee, poet, journalist, broadcast personality and activist who first became famous for being the vocalist of Manila-based jazz rock band Radioactive Sago Project....
, Film Academy of the Philippines
Film Academy of the Philippines
Established in 1981, the Film Academy of the Philippines is the Philippines' official counterpart of the United States' Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The FAP was founded through Executive Order 640-A, signed by former President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos...
Director General Leo Martinez (who had played a part in the original nomination process), and blogging social critic Vicente Soria de Veyra who wrote a series of blog essays against "the myth of the national artist".
Arroyo Administration
The Arroyo administration was quick to defend its choices of individuals to be named to the Order of National Artists. Acting Executive Secretary and Presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio told reporters that:"I think we can defend [their] track record and qualifications and reasons [for their selection] .”
He also said the administration would “stand by the qualifications, qualities, track record and reputation of those named as National Artists.”
Carlo J. Caparas
Caparas defended his proclamation, saying that other aspirants to the honor ought to wait their turn.“Ganyan talaga kung may something for grabs. E, iisa lang ang pipiliin. Sana, maghintay na lang sila ng tamang panahon sa gusto nilang manalo. Hindi naman ito palakasan.”(That's the way it is whenever something is for grabs. Only one person can be selected. They ought to wait for the right time for them if they want to win. It's not as if this were a case of sucking up.)
Kaya wag mag-alala ang mga critics ko, may pagkakataon pa sila o ang mga manok nila na manalo in the future. (So my critics shouldn't worry, they or their fighting cocks still have opportunities to win in the future.) They cannot take the award from me anymore."
“Baka ang nasa isip nila ay bata pa ako. Pero hindi naman ‘yon ang basehan. Sino naman ang ko-contest sa decision ng Cultural Center, ng NCCA at ng Malacañang tungkol sa award na ito? Mabuti na nga at ngayon pa lang ay ibinibigay na ang ganitong award sa mga taong nandito. Ang akala kasi nila ay sa matatanda o sa beterano o sa mga patay na ibinibigay ang ganitong award.” (Maybe they think I'm too young. But that's not a valid basis[for a choice] . Who would contest the decision of the Cultural Center, the NCCA, and Malacañang regarding this award? It's a good thing they're giving this award to someone who's still here. They think awards like this should only be given to the old, to veterans, or to the dead.)
Caparas said that instead of criticizing his award, entertainment people “should unite and work together to revive the ailing movie and komiks industry.” He attributed his win to the fact that he managed to cross over from comic books to film and television, and saying that his triumph was significant because he was a National Artist who came from the working class. “I am a National Artist who came from the masses," the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
quoted him as saying. "I work and struggle with them.” He said it was time for a National Artist “who the masses can identify with—someone who walks beside them, someone who can inspire them.” Noting that some Filipinos did not even know the National Artists he said “Hopefully, since I am still active in TV and in the movies, this will encourage our countrymen to learn more about our National Artists.”
Others who have come to his defense include Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) director and former Movie and Television Ratings and Classification Board (MTRCB) chief Manoling Morato, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) head Dante Jimenez, boxing hero Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...
, Senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada
Jinggoy Estrada
Jose Pimentel Ejercito, Jr. , better known as Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, is a Filipino politician and former film actor who has been a member of the Senate of the Philippines since 2004...
, Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino chair Joe Lad Santos, and Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines commonly known as PUP is a public research university in the Philippines. It was founded on October 19, 1904 as the Manila Business School, offering commerce-related courses...
president Dante Guevarra.
Cecilla Guidote-Alvarez
Guidote-Alvarez also defended her qualifications for receiving the award. “Before you make a judgment," she said, "read my achievements first as an artist. Was I an idiot before I became a national artist?" As proof of her achievements, she cited previous awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay public service award for the arts, the CCP Gawad Sining Award for Literature, and the Outstanding Women in the Nation's Services award. She also cited her important role in the development of Philippine theater, having founded the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA) in 1967. She asserted that the President had the prerogative to name national artists who were not named in the selection committee's shortlist, and denied lobbying for the award, saying that President Arroyo had “never talked to [her] about it."Significant events
On July 27, 2009, it was announced to the public that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had named seven National Artists for 2009: National Commission on Culture and the Arts executive director Cecille Guidote Alvarez (theater); Manuel Conde (film and broadcast arts, posthumous); Lazaro Francisco (literature, posthumous); Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (visual arts in painting, sculpture and mixed media); Magno Jose Carlo Caparas (visual arts and film); Francisco Mañoza (architecture); and Jose "Pitoy" Moreno (fashion design).By August 1, 2009, it had been revealed by members of the final selection committee, comprising members from the NCCA and CCP, that only Conde, Alcuaz and Francisco had been short-listed by the selection committee in May. Alvarez, Caparas,Mañosa, and Moreno had been included via what was referred to as the "President’s prerogative". They also revealed that a fourth nominee, Ramon Santos (shortlisted for music), had not been conferred the order as recommended by committee – also supposedly part of the president's prerogative. Various artists' groups in the Philippines began to protest, notably the Concerned Artists of the Philippines. Over the next few days, previously conferred members of the Order of National Artists, notably Eddie Romero, F. Sionil Jose, Bienvenido Lumbera, Virgilio Almario, and BenCab A number of members of the Comic Book industry, notably Gerry Alanguilan
Gerry Alanguilan
Doroteo Gerardo N. "Gerry" Alanguilan, Jr. , is a Filipino comic book artist and writer from San Pablo City, Laguna.- Career :...
, also protested.
On August 6, Representatives Ana Theresia Hontiveros and Walden Bello
Walden Bello
Walden Bello is a Filipino author, academic, and political analyst. He is a professor of sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines Diliman, as well as executive director of Focus on the Global South...
of the Akbayan Party-list filed House Resolution 1305 at the Philippine House of Representatives, calling for a congressional inquiry into the controversy to make sure that the choice of national artists would not be subject to the “whims" of ranking government officials. Hontiveros noted:
"Choosing national artists should fundamentally be about contribution in the arts and culture, not patronage or closeness to Malacañang. Choosing eminent symbols of Filipino arts and culture should be left in the hands of the arts community."
Also on August 15, the ABS CBN News Channel (ANC) hosted an episode of Cheche Lazaro
Cheche Lazaro
Cheche Lazaro, , is an acclaimed Filipino broadcast journalist and the founding President of Probe Productions Inc.-Profile:...
's Media in Focus, in which the controversial awardees in the person of Caparas and Alavarez were supposed to face off with protesting artists in the person of National Artist Eddie Romero, CCP Chair Emily Abrera, Palanca Award Hall of Fame Awardee Butch Dalisay, and film critic Alexis Tioseco. The first segment of the show allowed Caparas and Dalisay to air their side, while Alvarez was unable to arrive in time to join the second part of a show, which would have had her on a panel with Romero and Abrera, who were protesting the circumstances of her proclamation to of the order.
On August 7, protesters gathered at the front ramp of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Cultural Center of the Philippines
The Cultural Center of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos...
for a major protest action in the form of a mock “necrological service”. National Artists who joined the protesters were Napoleon Abueva (visual arts), Arturo Luz (visual arts), Ben Cabrera (visual arts), F. Sionil Jose (literature), Bienvenido Lumbera (literature), Virgilio Almario (literature) and Salvador Bernal (theater design). Relatives of deceased National Artists also participated in the event, with singer Celeste Legaspi
Celeste Legaspi
Celeste Legaspi is a Filipino singer and actress. Her singles and albums reached gold or platinum status during the 1970s and 1980s. She is the daughter of National Artist for Visual Arts Cesar Legaspi...
representing her late father Cesar Legaspi
Cesar Legaspi
Cesar Legaspi on April 2, 1917 in Tondo, Manila is a Filipino National Artist awardee in painting. He was also an art director prior to going full-time in his visual art practice in the 1960s. His early works, alongside those of peer, Hernando Ocampo are described as depictions of anguish and...
(National Artist for visual arts), and Raul Locsin representing his late brother Leandro Locsin
Leandro Locsin
Leandro V. Locsin was a Filipino architect, artist, and interior designer, known for his use of concrete, floating volume and simplistic design in his various projects. An avid collector, he was fond of modern painting and Chinese ceramics. He was proclaimed a National Artist of the Philippines...
(National Artist for architecture). Protesters offered black roses "to symbolize the death of the National Artist Awards."
During the protests, the Concerned Artists of the Philippines group, through its chair Lumbera informed the media that they “might seek court injunction" at the Supreme Court "against the proclamation of the new national artists."
After the mock ceremony, participants continued the protest with a motorcade which ended at the offices of the NCCA, where Alvarez serves as head. This led to loud verbal confrontations between protesters and supporters of Alvarez.
On August 19 a group of National Artists and supporters, led by National Artists for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera and Virgilio Almario, asked filed a 38-page petition at the Supreme Court "for prohibition, certiorari and injunction with prayer for restraining order to prevent the Palace from conferring the title to respondents," to stop "the release of the monetary benefits, entitlements and emoluments… to private respondents arising from such conferment," and the "holding of the acknowledgement ceremonies for their recognition." The petition asserted that:
"For the President to cavalierly disregard the collective judgment of the CCP and NCCA boards, and substitute her own judgment without a clear indication of the reasons and bases, therefore, is an unacceptable and manifestly grave abuse of discretion."
On August 25 the Supreme Court issued a status quo order, stopping Malacañang from conferring the honor pending deliberation of the petition to disqualify Alvarez, Caparas, Mañosa, and Moreno. Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez noted that: "The court saw the urgency to issue the status quo order and stop the conferment of the awards. It has the same as a temporary restraining order."
The incident involving Caparas has also been the subject of vandalism in Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, where anonymous editors and newly registered accounts maliciously edited the article, substituting the titles with nonsensical ones containing Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
s.
On August 31, 2009, Dalisay claimed in his column in The Philippine Star
The Philippine Star
The Philippine Star is a daily English-language broadsheet newspaper based in Manila and circulated nationwide in the Philippines. Owned and published by PhilSTAR Daily, Inc, it was founded on July 28, 1986 by veteran journalists Max Soliven, Betty Go-Belmonte and Art Borjal...
that the NCCA web page regarding the selection process for national artists had been changed:
When I looked up the National Artists page on the NCCA website, the rules had suddenly changed — now there was a mention of Executive Order 236 empowering an Honors Committee to make up its own list of NA nominees to the President. That wasn’t there before the recent [National Artist] scandal blew up — neither the rule nor the role of the committee in the NAA process.
On September 14, 2009, the Philippines' House of Representatives
House of Representatives of the Philippines
The House of Representatives of the Philippines is the lower chamber of the...
began its committee inquiry into the National Artist controversy. In her testimony before the committee, CCP director and lawyer Lorna Kapunan alleged that the Malacañang honors committee had not actually held a meeting to deliberate on the nominees, and that minutes of the said meeting were therefore forged. Alvarez denied the allegations, and insisted that the selection process for National Artists of the Philippines had always involved the participation of three committees – those of the CCP, the NCCA and the Malacañang honors committee.
On the same day, the CCP submitted to the Supreme Court its 31-page comment regarding the petition to disqualify the National Artists added by Malacañang to the list of nominees. The CCP reiterated its position that the four had not been in the original list of nominees. It also requested the Supreme Court to order the proclamation of its four original choices as 2009's National Artists.