NATIONAL

ARTIST OF
THE
PHILIPPINES
 THE ORDER OF
NATIONAL ARTIST
The Order of the National Artists
Award (Orden ng Gawad
Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) is the
highest national recognition given to
Filipino individuals who have made
significant contributions to the
development of Philippine arts.
 THE ORDER OF
NATIONAL ARTIST
The order is concurrent
administered by the National
Commission for Culture and the
Arts (NCCA) and Cultural Center of
the Philippines (CCP) and
conferred by the President of the
Philippines upon recommendation
by both institutions.
 THE ORDER OF
NATIONAL ARTIST
The award is one of the
Honors conferred by the
Republic of the Philippines that
represents the nation’s highest
ideals in the humanities and
aesthetic expression through
the recognizable achievements
of individual citizens.
 THE ORDER OF
NATIONAL ARTIST
The said achievements are
measured in terms of their
vision, unusual insight, creativity
and imagination, technical
proficiency of the highest order
in expressing Filipino culture
and traditions, history, way of
life, and aspirations.
 THE ORDER OF
NATIONAL ARTIST
The first award was given to
Fernando Amorsolo. On May 15, 1973
under the Proclamation No. 1144, CCP
Board of Trustees was named as the
National Artist Awards Committee.
The Presidential Decree No.208 that
was issued on June 7, 1973 reiterated
the mandate of CCP to administer
the National Awards as well as the
privileges and honors to National
Artist.
AIMS OF THE ORDER OF
NATIONAL ARTIST
The Filipino artists who have made significant
contributions to the cultural heritage of the country.

The Filipino artistic accomplishment at its highest

level and to promote creative expression as significant
to the development of a national cultural identity.
The Filipino artists who have dedicated their lives
to their works to forge new paths and directions for
future generations of Filipino artists.
QUALIFICATIONS
FOR NATIONAL
ARTIST
QUALIFICATIONS
1. Living artists who are natural-born Filipino citizens.
2. The content and form of their work have procured in
building a Filipino sense of nationhood.
3. An artist who have developed a mode of creative
expression or style and living a legend on succeeding
generations of artists.
4. An artist who manifest excellence in the practice of
their art form
5. The artwork made has attained an international and
national recognition.
INSIGNIA OF
THE ORDER
OF THE
NATIONAL
ARTISTS
 THE INSIGNIA
The insignia of the Order of the National Artists is formed
from a Grand Collar featuring circular links depicting the arts
and an eight-pointed sunburst suspended from a sampaguita
wreath in green and white enamel. The center of the badge is
divided into three equal portions, in red, white and blue
representing the Philippine Flag with three stylized letter K’s
that stands for the CCP’s motto “ Katotohanan, Kabutihan at
Kagandahan “ ( The true, the good and the beautiful ). The
Grand Collar is made from silver gilt bronze.
THE INSIGNIA
 LIST OF
THE
NATIONAL
ARTISTS
 FOR
ARCHITECTURE
CATEGORIES FOR
NATIONAL ARTIST
4. MUSIC - singing, composition, direction, and/or
performance.

5. DANCE - choreography, direction and/or performance;

6. THEATER – direction, performance and/or production

design.
7. VISUAL ARTS – painting, sculpture, printmaking,
photography, installation art, mixed media works, illustration,
graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging.
 1973 JUAN NAKPIL
A pioneer and an innovator in Philippine
architecture. In essence, his greatest
contribution is his belief that there is such
a thing as Philippine architecture,
espousing architecture reflective of
Philippine tradition and culture.
 1973 JUAN NAKPIL

(May 26, 1899 – May 7, 1986)

 ARTWORKS
➢ Altar of the ‘international eucharistic congress
➢ The dome and a second belfry of ‘the Quiapo church
➢ The university of the Philippines administration and
university library
➢ And the reconstructed ‘Rizal house’ in Calamba,
laguna.
 1976 PABLO S. ANTONIO
(January 25, 1902 – June 14, 1975)
Pioneered modern Philippine
architecture. His architecture adapts
the art deco techniques which is
dominant motif during his time. His
design is based on simplicity and
clean structural design.
 1976 PABLO S. ANTONIO

(January 25, 1902 – June 14, 1975)

 ARTWORKS
➢ Far Eastern University Administration and Science
buildings
➢ Manila Polo Club
➢ Ideal Theater, Lyric Theater, Galaxy Theater,
➢ Capitan Luis Gonzaga Building
1990 - LEANDRO V. 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. He was
proclaimed a National Artist of the
Philippines for Architecture in 1990 by
the late former President Corazon C.
Aquino.
 LEANDRO V. LOCSIN

(August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994)

 ARTWORKS
➢ Istana Nurul Iman, the palace of the Sultan of Brunei, which has a
floor area of 2.2 million square feet
➢ The CCP Complex
➢ the Cultural Center of the Philippines
➢ Folk Arts Theater
➢ Philippine International Convention Center
➢ Philcite
➢ The Westin Hotel (now Sofitel Philippine Plaza).
 2014 JOSE MARIA ZARAGOZA
José María V. Zaragoza’s place in
Philippine architecture history is
defined by a significant body of
modern edifices that address
spiritual and secular requirements.
Zaragoza’s name is synonymous to
modern ecclesiastical architecture.
JOSE MARIA ZARAGOZA

(December 6, 1912 – November 26,

1994)
 ARTWORKS
➢Meralco Building (Pasig Cty)
➢ Sto. Domingo Church and Convent
(Quezon City)
➢ Metropolitan Cathedral of Cebu City
➢ Villa San Miguel, Mandaluyoung.
ILDEFONSO P. SANTOS JR.
With decades of experience
under his belt, he was called the
“Father of Philippine Landscape
Architecture”. And in 2006, he
was recognized as a National
Artist of the Philippines in the
field of Architecture.
ILDEFONSO P. SANTOS JR.

(September 5, 1929 – January 29,

2014)
 ARTWORKS
➢Tagaytay Highland Resort
➢Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club in
Lipa, Batangas
➢Orchard Golf and Country Club in Imus,
Cavite.
 FOR
DANCE
1973 - FRANCISCA R. AQUINO
Folk Dance Pioneer. This Bulakeña began
her research on folk dances in the 1920s
making trips to remote barrios in Central
and Northern Luzon. Her research on the
unrecorded forms of local celebration,
ritual, and sport resulted into a 1926 thesis
titled “Philippine Folk Dances and
Games,” and arranged specifically for use
by teachers.
1973 - FRANCISCA R. AQUINO

(March 9, 1899 – November 21, 1983)

 ARTWORKS
➢ Philippine National Dances (1946); Gymnastics for Girls
(1947)
➢ Fundamental Dance Steps and Music (1948); Foreign Folk
Dances (1949)
➢ Dances for all Occasion (1950)
➢ Playground Demonstration (1951)
➢ Philippine Folk Dances, Volumes I to VI.
1976 LEONOR OROSA- GOQUINGCO
The accomplishments of
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco,
National Artist for Dance, were
truly awesome. She founded
the Filipinescas Dance
Company and the Philippine
Theatre Dance Group.
1976 - LEONOR OROSA- GOQUINGCO

(July 24, 1917 – July 15, 2005)

 ARTWORKS
➢“TREND: Return to Native,
➢ In a Javanese Garden
➢Sports
➢VINTA!
➢In a Concentration Camp
➢The Magic Garden
1988 - LUCRECIA REYES URTULA
Lucrecia Faustino Reyes-Urtula was
a Filipino choreographer, theater
director, teacher, author and
researcher on ethnic dance. She was
the founding director of the Bayanihan
Philippine National Folk Dance
Company and was named National
Artist of the Philippines for dance in
1988. She worked to translate folk
dancing into the realm of theater.
1988 - LUCRECIA REYES URTULA

(June 29, 1929 – August 4, 1999)

 ARTWORKS
➢Singkil
➢Vinta
➢ Tagabili
➢Pagdiwata
➢Salidsid
➢Idaw, Banga and Aires de Verbena.
 2006 - RAMON OBUSAN
A dancer, choreographer, stage
designer, and artistic director. He
achieved phenomenal success in
philippine dance and cultural work.
He was also acknowledged as a
researcher, archivist and documentary
filmmaker who broadened and
deepened the Filipino understanding
of his own cultural life and expressions.
 2006 - RAMON OBUSAN

(June 16, 1938 – December 21, 2006)

 ARTWORKS
➢Vamos a Belen! Series
➢Noon Po sa Amin
➢Obra Maestra
➢Water, Fire and Life, Philippine Dances and
Music–A Celebration of LifE
 FOR
FASHION
 2006 - RAMON VALERA
On August 31, 1912, Ramon Valera,
the first fashion designer to receive
the National Artist of the Philippines
for Fashion Design award, was born
in Santa Cruz, Manila to a family from
the province of Abra. He was known
for popularizing terno.
 2006 - RAMON VALERA

(August 31, 1912 – May 25, 1972)

FOR
FILM
GERARDO DE LEON - 1982
Gerardo “Gerry” De Leon, film
director, belongs to the Ilagan clan
and as such grew up in an
atmosphere rich in theater. The
silent movies served as De Leon’s
“very good” training ground
because the pictures told the
story.
GERARDO DE LEON - 1982

(September 12, 1913 – July 25, 1981)

 ARTWORKS
➢ Daigdig ng Mga Api
➢ Noli Me Tangere
➢ El Filibusterismo,” and “Sisa.
➢ Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo
➢ Dyesebel
➢ The Gold Bikini
➢ Banaue
 LINO BROCKA - 1997
director for film and broadcast
arts, espoused the term
“freedom of expression” in the
Philippine Constitution. Brocka
took his social activist spirit to
the screen leaving behind 66
films
 LINO BROCKA - 1997

(April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991)

 LINO BROCKA - 1997
➢ Santiago (1970),
➢ Wanted: Perfect Mother (1970)
➢ Tubog sa Ginto (1971),
➢ Stardoom (1971),
➢ Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang”
(1974),
 ISHMAEL BERNAL - 2001
was a filmmaker of the first order and one of
the very few who can be truly called a maestro.
Critics have hailed him as “the genius of
Philippine cinema.”
He is recognized as a director of films that
serve as social commentaries and bold
reflections on the existing realities of the
struggle of the Filipino. His art extends beyond
the confines of aesthetics.
 ISHMAEL BERNAL - 2001

(September 30, 1938 – June 2, 1996)

 ISHMAEL BERNAL - 2001
➢ Pahiram ng Isang Umaga (1989)
➢ Broken Marriage (1983)
➢ Himala (1982)
➢ City After Dark (1980)
➢ Nunal sa Tubig (1976)
 EDDIE S. ROMERO - 2003
A screenwriter, film director and
producer, Eddie Romero is the
quintessential Filipino filmmaker
whose life is devoted to the art
and commerce of cinema
spanning three generations of
filmmakers.
EDDIE S. ROMERO - 2003

(July 7, 1924 – May 28, 2013)

EDDIE S. ROMERO - 2003
➢ Ganito Kami Noon…Paano
Kayo Ngayon?,
➢ Aguila
➢ Kamakalawa
➢ Banta ng Kahapon
➢ Noli Me Tangere
 MANUEL CONDE - 2009
He grew up and studied in Daet,
Camarines Norte. In the decades
before and after World War II when
Philippine society was being
inundated by American popular
culture.
 MANUEL CONDE - 2009
Conde invested local cinema with
a distinct cultural history of its
own through movies that
translated onto the silver screen
the age-old stories that Filipinos
had told and retold from
generation to generation for at
least the past one hundred years.
 MANUEL CONDE - 2009

October 9, 1915 – August 11, 1985

 MANUEL CONDE - 2009
➢ Siete Infantes de Lara,
➢ Ibong Adarna,
➢ Prinsipe Tenoso
➢ Ibong Adarna (1941)
➢ Si Juan Tamad (1947)
➢ Siete Infantes de Lara (1950)
➢ Genghis Khan (1950)
➢ Ikaw Kasi! (1955)
➢ Juan Tamad Goes To Congress (1959).
 FOR
LITERATURE
 2014 - Cirilo F. Bautista
is a poet, fictionist and essayist
with exceptional achievements
and significant contributions to
the development of the country’s
literary arts. He is acknowledged
by peers and critics, and the
nation at large as the foremost
writer of his generation.
 2014 - Cirilo F. Bautista

(July 9, 1941 – May 6, 2018)

 ARTWORKS
➢ Summer Suns (1963)
➢ Words and Battlefields
(1998)
➢ The Trilogy of Saint
Lazarus (2001)
➢ Galaw ng Asoge (2003)
 2009 Lazaro Francisco
developed the social realist tradition
in Philippine fiction. His eleven
novels, now acknowledged classics
of Philippine literature, embodies the
author’s commitment to nationalism.

(February 22, 1898 – June 17, 1980)

 ARTWORKS
➢ Ama
➢ Bayang Nagpatiwakal
➢ Maganda Pa Ang Daigdig
Daluyong
 2006 Bienvenido Lumbera
As a poet, he introduced to tagalog
literature what is now known as
bagay poetry, a landmark aesthetic
tendency that has helped to
change the vernacular poetic
tradition.
(April 11, 1932 - September 28,
2021)
ARTWORKS
➢ Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa 1993
➢ Balaybay
➢ Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang, 2002
➢ Sa Sariling Bayan
➢ Apat na Dulang May Musika, 2004
➢ Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita
➢ Pakikiramay, 2004
2003 Virgilio S. Almario
also known as Rio Alma, is a poet,
literary historian and critic, who
has revived and reinvented
traditional Filipino poetic forms,
even as he championed modernist
poetics.
(born March 9, 1944)
ARTWORKS
➢ Makinasyon and Peregrinasyon
➢ the landmark trilogy Doktrinang
Anakpawis
➢ Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo and Muli
➢ Sa Kandungan ng Lupa
 2001 F. Sionil Jose
writings since the late 60s, when
taken collectively can best be
described as epic. Its sheer
volume puts him on the forefront
of Philippine writing in English.

(December 3, 1924 – January 6,

2022)
 ARTWORKS
➢ The Pretenders, Tree
➢ My Brother
➢ My Executioner
➢ Mass
➢ Po-on
 FOR
MUSIC
 2014 Ramon Santos
Composer, conductor and musicologist, is
currently the country’s foremost exponent of
contemporary filipino music. A prime figure in the
second generation of filipino composers in the
modern idiom, santos has contributed greatly to
the quest for new directions in music, taking as
basis non-western traditions in the philippines and
southeast asia.
 2014 Ramon Santos

(born 25 February 1941)

 1999 Andrea O. Veneracion
is highly esteemed for her achievements as
choirmaster and choral arranger. Two of her
indispensable contributions in culture and the
arts include the founding of the Philippine
Madrigal Singers and the spearheading of the
development of Philippine choral music.

(July 11, 1928 – July 9, 2013)

 1997 Levi Celerio
a prolific lyricist and composer for decades. He
effortlessly translated/wrote anew the lyrics to
traditional melodies: “O Maliwanag Na Buwan”
(Iloko), “Ako ay May Singsing” (Pampango),
“Alibangbang” (Visaya) among others.

(April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002)

 1991 Lucio D. San Pedro
a master composer, conductor, and teacher
whose music evokes the folk elements of the
Filipino heritage. Cousin to “Botong” Francisco,
He produced a wide-ranging body of works that
includes band music, concertos for violin and
orchestra, choral works, cantatas, chamber
music, music for violin and piano, and songs for
solo voice. (February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002)
 1991 Lucio D. San Pedro
His orchestral music include The Devil’s Bridge,
Malakas at Maganda Overture,Prelude and Fugue
in D minor, Hope and Ambition; choral music
Easter Cantata, Sa Mahal Kong Bayan, Rizal’s
Valedictory Poem; vocal music Lulay,Sa Ugoy ng
Duyan, In the Silence of the Night; and band
music Dance of the Fairies, Triumphal March,
Lahing Kayumanggi, Angononian March among
others.
 1989 Lucrecia R. Kasilag
an educator, composer, performing artist,
administrator and cultural entrepreneur of national
and international caliber, had involved herself
wholly in sharpening the Filipino audience’s
appreciation of music. Kasilag’s pioneering task to
discover the Filipino roots through ethnic music
and fusing it with Western influences has led many
Filipino composers to experiment with such an
approach.
 1989 Lucrecia R. Kasilag
such as the prize-winning “Toccata for
Percussions and Winds, Divertissement and
Concertante,” and the scores of the Filiasiana,
Misang Pilipino, and De Profundis.

(31 August 1918 – 16 August 2008)

 1989 Lucrecia R. Kasilag
Her orchestral music includes Love Songs, Legend
of the Sarimanok, Ang Pamana, Philippine Scenes,
Her Son, Jose, Sisa and chamber music like Awit ng
mga Awit Psalms, Fantaisie on a 4-Note Theme,
and East Meets Jazz Ethnika.
 FOR
THEATER
 2001 Severino Montano
Playwright, director, actor, and theater organizer,
Severino Montano is the forerunner in
institutionalizing “legitimate theater” in the
Philippines. Taking up courses and graduate
degrees abroad, he honed and shared his
expertise with his countrymates.
 1999 Daisy Avellana
is an actor, director and writer. Born in Roxas City,
Capiz on January 26, 1917, she elevated legitimate
theater and dramatic arts to a new level of
excellence by staging and performing in
breakthrough productions of classic Filipino and
foreign plays and by encouraging the
establishment of performing groups and the
professionalization of Filipino theater.
 1997 Rolando S. Tinio
playwright, thespian, poet, teacher, critic, and
translator marked his career with prolific artistic
productions. Tinio’s chief distinction is as a stage
director whose original insights into the scripts he
handled brought forth productions notable for
their visual impact and intellectual cogency.
1987 Honorata " Atang" de la Rama
formally honored as the Queen of Kundiman in
1979, then already 74 years old singing the same
song (“Nabasag na Banga”) that she sang as a 15-
year old girl in the sarsuela Dalagang Bukid.
1987 Honorata " Atang" de la Rama
As early as age seven, Atang was already being
cast in Spanish zarzuelas such as Mascota, Sueño
de un Vals, and Marina. She counts the role though
of an orphan in Pangarap ni Rosa as her most
rewarding and satisfying role that she played with
realism, the stage sparkling with silver coins tossed
by a teary-eyed audience.
1987 Honorata " Atang" de la Rama
Among the kundiman and the other songs she
premiered or popularized were Pakiusap, Ay, Ay
Kalisud, Kung Iibig Ka and Madaling Araw by Jose
Corazon de Jesus, and Mutya ng Pasig by
Deogracias Rosario and Nicanor Abelardo. She also
wrote her own sarswelas: Anak ni Eba, Aking Ina,
and Puri at Buhay.
 FOR
Visual Arts
2014 Francisco Coching
Acknowledged as the “Dean of Filipino Illustrators”
and son of noted Tagalog novelist and comics
illustrator Gregorio Coching, Francisco Coching
was a master storyteller ― in images and in print.
His illustrations and novels were products of that
happy combination of fertile imagination, a love of
storytelling, and fine draftsmanship.
2014 Francisco Coching
He valorized the indigenous, untrammeled Filipino
in Lapu-Lapu and Sagisag ng Lahing Pilipino, and
created the types that affirm the native sense of
self in his Malay heroes of stunning physique. His
women are beautiful and gentle, but at the same
time can be warrior-like, as in Marabini (Marahas
na Binibini) or the strong seductive, modern
women of his comics in the 50s and 60s.
2014 Francisco Coching
There are myths and fantasy, too, featuring the
grotesque characters, vampire bats, shriveled
witches, as in Haring Ulopong. He also drew from
the popular post-war culture of the 50s, as seen in
Movie Fan. At this point, his settings and
characters became more urbane, and the
narratives he weaved scanned the changing times
and mores, as in Pusakal, Talipandas, Gigolo, and
Maldita.
1976 Napoleon V. Abueva
a native of Bohol, was the youngest National Artist
awardee. Considered as the Father of Modern
Philippine Sculpture, Abueva helped shape the
local sculpture scene to what it is now. Being
adept in either academic representational style or
modern abstract, he has utilized almost all kinds of
materials from hardwood.
1976 Napoleon V. Abueva
Abueva introduced in 1951 was what he referred to
as “buoyant sculpture” — sculpture meant to be
appreciated from the surface of a placid pool. In
the ’80s, Abueva put up a one-man show at the
Philippine Center, New York. His works have been
installed in different museums here and abroad,
such as The Sculpture at the United Nations
headquarters in New York City.
1976 Napoleon V. Abueva
Some of his major works include Kaganapan (1953),
Kiss of Judas (1955),Thirty Pieces of Silver, The
Transfiguration (1979), Eternal Garden Memorial
Park, UP Gateway (1967), Nine Muses (1994), UP
Faculty Center, Sunburst (1994)-Peninsula Manila
Hotel, the bronze figure of Teodoro M. Kalaw in
front of National Library, and murals in marble at
the National Heroes Shrine, Mt. Samat, Bataan.
1973 Guillermo E. Tolentino
The result was the UP Oblation that became the
symbol of freedom at the campus. Acknowledged
as his masterpiece and completed in 1933, The
Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan stands as an
enduring symbol of the Filipinos’ cry for freedom.
1973 Guillermo E. Tolentino
President Quezon at Quezon Memorial, life-size
busts of Jose Rizal at UP and UE, marble statue of
Ramon Magsaysay in GSIS Building; granolithics of
heroic statues representing education, medicine,
forestry, veterinary science, fine arts and music at
UP.
He also designed the gold and bronze medals for
the Ramon Magsaysay Award and did the seal of
the Republic of the Philippines.
1973 Carlos " Botong" V. Francisco
he poet of Angono, single-handedly revived the
forgotten art of mural and remained its most
distinguished practitioner for nearly three
decades. In panels such as those that grace the
City Hall of Manila, Francisco turned fragments of
the historic past into vivid records of the
legendary courage of the ancestors of his race.
1973 Carlos " Botong" V. Francisco
His other major works include the following:
Portrait of Purita, The Invasion of Limahong,
Serenade, Muslim Betrothal, Blood Compact, First
Mass at Limasawa, The Martyrdom of Rizal,
Bayanihan, Magpupukot, Fiesta, Bayanihan sa
Bukid, Sandugo.
1972 Fernando C. Amorsolo
The official title “Grand Old Man of Philippine Art”
was bestowed on Amorsolo when the Manila Hilton
inaugurated its art center on January 23, 1969, with
an exhibit of a selection of his works. Returning
from his studies abroad in the 1920s, Amorsolo
developed the backlighting technique that
became his trademark were figures, a cluster of
leaves, a spill of hair, the swell of breast, are seen
aglow on canvas.
1972 Fernando C. Amorsolo
Maiden in a Stream(1921)-GSIS collection; El Ciego
(1928)-Central Bank of the Philippines collection;
Dalagang Bukid (1936) – Club Filipino collection;
The Mestiza (1943) – National Museum of the
Philippines collection; Planting Rice (1946)-UCPB
collection; Sunday Morning Going to Town (1958)-
Ayala Museum Collection.