Order of the National Artists of the Philippines is an order bestowed by the Philippines on Filipinos 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 Order in 2003.
Nora Aunor is a Filipino actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in several stage plays, television shows, and concerts. She is known as Philippine cinema's "Superstar" and is regarded as the People's National Artist. The Hollywood Reporter called her "The Grand Dame of Philippine Cinema" for her performance in the movie Taklub.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines, is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture; an executing agency for the policies it formulates; and task to administering the National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA) -- fund exclusively for the implementation of culture and arts programs and projects.
Rolando Santos Tinio was a Filipino poet, dramatist, director, actor, critic, essayist and educator.
Nicanor G. Tiongson is a leading critic, creative writer and academic from the Philippines. He holds a Bachelor of Humanities degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines. A founding member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, Tiongson is currently Professor Emeritus of Film and Audio-visual Communication at the College of Mass Communication in U.P. Diliman.
Leoncio P. Deriada is a Filipino writer
Hernando Ruiz Ocampo was a Filipino National Artist in the visual arts. He is also fictionist, a playwright and editor.
Nilo Alcala is a Filipino composer, arranger, and vocalist. He is the first Philippine-born composer to be commissioned by the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Master Chorale, and also to receive the Aaron Copland House Residency Award.
Frank G. Rivera is a Filipino retired-playwright, actor and production designer.
Mario Parial was a Multi-awarded Filipino painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His works have been sold at Sotheby's.
Damiana Ligon Eugenio was a Filipino female author and professor who was known as the Mother of Philippine Folklore, a title she received in 1986. Apart from teaching at the University of the Philippines, she has several publications in the field of Philippine folklore, among them a series of seven books which she compiled and edited.
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).
Cesare A.X. Syjuco is a multi-media artist, painter, poet and art critic from Manila, Philippines.
Ernani Joson Cuenco was a Filipino composer, film scorer, musical director and music teacher and Philippine National Artist for Music. He wrote an outstanding and memorable body of works that resonate with the Filipino sense of musicality and which embody an ingenious voice that raises the aesthetic dimensions of contemporary Filipino music. Cuenco played with the Filipino Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Manila Symphony Orchestra from 1960 to 1968, and the Manila Chamber Soloists from 1966 to 1970. He completed a music degree in piano and cello from the University of Santo Tomas where he also taught for decades until his death in 1988.
The Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) is a specialized public high school in the Philippines offering arts-focused education established in 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1287. An attached agency of the Department of Education, it consults with the Cultural Center of the Philippines for policy and program implementation of its arts program. Aside from the Basic Education curriculum prescribed by the government, it offers various specializations in the field of arts.
The National Living Treasures Award, alternatively known as the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan is conferred to a person or group of artists recognized by the Government of the Philippines for their contributions to the country's intangible cultural heritage. A recipient of the award, known as a National Living Treasures or Manlilikha ng Bayan is defined as "a Filipino citizen or group of Filipino citizens engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino, whose distinctive skills have reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence and have been passed on to and widely practiced by the present generations in their community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence."
Bellaflor "Bella" J. Angara-Castillo, simply known as Bella Angara, is a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the lone district of Aurora. She previously served three consecutive terms as governor of Aurora province from 2004 to 2013. She was the third female governor of Aurora province. Prior to being governor, she served three consecutive terms as representative of the lone district of Aurora from 1995 to 2004. She was the first and so far the only woman in the history of the Philippine Congress to become House majority floor leader.
Ramon Arevalo Obusan was a Filipino dancer, choreographer, stage designer and artistic director. Obusan is credited for his work in promoting Philippine traditional dance and cultural work. He is also an acclaimed archivist, researcher and documentary filmmaker who focused on Philippine culture. He also founded Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group in 1971. Among the awards Obusan received was the Patnubay ng Kalinangan award by the City of Manila in 1992, the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining award in 1993 and the prestigious National Artist of the Philippines for dance in May 2006.
The Centennial Honors for the Arts,(Gawad Sentenaryo para sa Sining) is an award given by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Centennial Commission to honor the outstanding Filipino who have contributed in building the nation though Arts and Culture in the last 100 years and it coincide with the 100 years of Philippine Independence. The awardees were chosen among the hundreds of nominees in different art fields like painting, sculpture, literature, theater, dance, film, architecture, and other arts. In the interest of painting a more complete picture of the development of Filipino culture, the CCP also decided to honor outstanding art patrons, cultural administrators, critics, and researchers. No distinctions were drawn between the fine arts, traditional folk art and popular art. The CCP also decided not to include the Philippine National Artists for they already received the country's highest honors for the Arts.
