PETA's Official Statement on National Artist Issue

Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA)'s OFFICIAL STATEMENT

One should have been far too many, yet President Arroyo has abused her power – again. This time it threatens to divide the artist community.

We join our fellow artists in the condemnation of President Arroyo’s abuse of her so-called prerogatives and her utter disrespect for a selection process that has served the awards program well. During the term of President Aquino, that prerogative was already in place, but in contrast to President Arroyo, Cory had the grace and wisdom to entrust the selection to the legally appointed bodies. President Arroyo’s elimination of one legitimate nominee, and her insertion of four persons without the benefit of the rigor of standards, and scrutiny that the awards deserve have debased the National Artists Award.

We question the prudence of those who nominated Cecile Guidote-Alvarez to President Arroyo, those who decided to bypass the rules of the selection process. They knew full-well that any member of the two selection bodies, NCCA and CCP, cannot be nominated for this honor. Cecile Guidote-Alvarez is the Executive Director of the NCCA and yet they still pushed for her inclusion in the roster. Finally, President Arroyo, sanctioned this violation when she offered to elevate Cecile Guidote-Alvarez to the status of National Artist.

We have the highest respect for Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, and even to this very day, decades after she has left PETA, we still owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude as our founder and original guiding spirit

It is precisely because of our respect, admiration and affection for her that we request her to decline the award at this time as it is sadly tainted. We believe that the award will be much more meaningful for her if it is granted the benefit of the rigorous scrutiny, and endorsement of her peers.

Her vision and blueprint for a national theater was a masterplan which helped change the direction of Philippine theater in the 60’s. Her work, especially in the first five years with PETA, created a spirit that until now animates parallel cultural movements and initiatives. Her legacy has been greatly expanded and enriched by wave after wave of PETA members but her original vision and mission remain: theater can be a force to educate, to mirror and forge our cultural identity, and to break the culture of silence. It is in the same spirit that we have chosen to speak now and in this manner. This is especially important at a time when the nation is suffering from so much loss of public trust, in government, and in ourselves as a people.

As PETA members, we are encouraged to express our opinions as individuals. On this issue however, we have deliberated as a body to formulate this statement. The issue of the National Artists Award is a national issue. It affects us as individual artists because the award symbolizes the best in us. It affects the whole country because these artists, once given this honor are transformed into examples, beacons, and icons for our country. It defines all Filipino artists and all Filipinos. To surrender the power to one person to declare – who among us should be considered exemplary is not acceptable. That is not the President’s prerogative!

The culture of insensitivity and disrespect for due process, spawned by eight years of absence of transparency and accountability of the Arroyo administration has finally reached our gates. Art is the last of the few independent refuges of freedom, and when this refuge is breached, all freedom is utterly lost.

We join the arts and culture community in condemning this administration' s abuse of power that threatens the freedom of the arts. We artists, performing the sacred role of committed citizens, will be standing as one to defend this refuge - vigilant and courageous in the pursuit of genuine democracy.

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Young Artists on PGMA's Order of National Artists Selection Anomaly

STATEMENT of Young Artists on PGMA’s Order of National Artists Selection Anomaly

We, young artists and cultural workers condemn the manipulation of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime in the selection of this year’s Order of National Artists and hold her accountable for abuse of power and victimizing the Filipino people in a psychological “all-out war”.

Ms. Arroyo’s July 6 presidential proclamation on her engineered list and announced in July 29 through its Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita is a sham that the youth would rather not easily forgive and forget especially that the national culture and arts is at stake.

Herself beset by anomalies as Executive Director of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and as Presidential Adviser on Culture, Cecille Guidote-Alvarez made it to the Order alongside three other names while Music scholar Dr. Ramon Santos was deleted from the original list of the Council of Experts composed of, as mandated by law, the Board of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the NCCA and National Artists.

Alvarez is popular in the arts community for malpractices, favoritism, questionable dissemination of public fund, the controversy on the illegal transfer of P2.5 billion National Endowment Fund for Culture and the premature appointment of then DepEd Underseceretary Vilma Labrador who is now the NCCA Chair and stunt defender of Ms. Alvarez’s designation in the Order. It was also in Ms. Alvarez’s term that during the 2005 National Cultural Summit with the theme “Breaking the Cycle of Corruption, Poverty, Pollution and Violence that progressive artists were harassed and barred from staging a lightning performance depicting the pressing issues of the country, such as corruption.

Contrary to Ms. Alvarez’s alibi that her National Artist designation is not a political gift from GMA, Malacañang’s shameless move is of the obvious, both a political and a gift in the name of public fame and funds.

The Order of National Artists is set as the highest national recognition given to Filipinos who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts and a National Artist is granted a sum of P100,000 upon awarding, a monthly stipend of P24,000, medical support, a P1-million project grant for a year and privileged burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani.

In exchange for the gift, it is possible that the monetary grant would be channeled to cultural outputs that may only serve the interests of an already isolated and unpopular GMA regime in desperate moves to stay in power and escape accountability to her corruption issues, among others.

It must be noted that in the exposé of the Arroyo’s anti-insurgency program called Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), psychological war materials proliferated in the form of komiks, powerpoint presentations, stage performances, video flash, commercial tv ads and full length film in a form of teleserye where one untitled series was a direct attack to workers striving to live in a state of unemployment, contractualization and labor exploits and the other series titled, “Ligaw na Pangarap” aimed to harass students who chose to be critical and vigilant in a time of worsening commercialized education. The number of victims of human rights violation and enforced disappearances rose to alarming figures since OBL was implemented in 2002.

The Filipino people don’t need a leader like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and a national artist like Cecille Guidote-Alavarez, who no matter how much foundation they apply on their face offcam, no matter how ironed their scripts are, no matter how spectacular their visual and human exhibits are, they cannot deceive sensible and thinking artists. We call to disregard the conferment of Arroyo’s picks in the Order of National Artist, an investigation to the “honors committee” that the Malacañang claims to nominate Alvarez and a culture of respect to a democratic process to the recognition.

The Arroyo regime and her tandem in culture of corruption, Ms. Alvarez, seem to underrate the collective power of the cultural sector, who, with the solidarity of the majority basic sectors, have championed in history struggles such as the defense of freedom of expression and civil liberties. Temporal was our Black Friday grief of the Death of the National Artist Awards as we remain in staging protest art, productions and actions for democratic cause. Arroyo’s recklessness is her own demise in power.

SINAGBAYAN is Sining na Naglilingkod sa Bayan, an organization of young writers, enthusiasts in various art disciplines and cultural workers committed to serve the arts for the education and organization of basic sectors. It has been in the forefront of advocating a nationalist, scientific and mass-oriented arts and culture since the turn of the millennium.

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Entries to 2009 National Artist Awards Now Open

NCCA ANNOUNCES ACCEPTANCE OF ENTRIES TO THE 2009 NATIONAL ARTIST AWARDS

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is now accepting nominations for the new batch of the Order of National Artists for conferment in 2009.

Order of the National Artists is the highest national recognition being given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts - in music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature, film and broadcast arts, and architecture and allied arts.

PA on Culture and NCCA Executive Director Cecile Guidote Alvarez said that the award embodies the country’s highest ideals in humanism and aesthetic expression through distinct achievements of individuals in any of the seven fields of the arts being conferred by the President of the Philippines every three years.

“In 2003, through Executive Order 236, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo conferred additional prestige on the award by raising it to the level of a Cultural Order, fourth in precedence among the orders that comprise the Honors Code of the Philippines,” added Guidote-Alvarez.

Eligible to be nominated for the National Artists are living artists who are Filipino citizens as well as those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972; artists who through the content and form of their works have contributed in building a sense of nationhood; and have pioneered a mode of creative expression which earned distinction and has an impact on succeeding generations of artists and consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form thus enriching artistic expression or style.

“Broad acceptance through prestigious national or international recognition, critical acclaim and reviews of their works, and the respect and esteem from peers, is a big plus factor for consideration,” said Guidote-Alvarez.

The nomination may be submitted by any government and non-government cultural organizations and educational institutions, as well as private foundations and councils on or before December 31, 2007 with a cover letter signed by the head of the organization accompanied by a board resolution approving the nominee, a duly accomplished nomination form, detailed curriculum vitae of the nominee, list of significant works categorized according to the criteria, with latest photograph, copies of published reviews and any other documents that may be required by the secretariat.

All correspondences, nomination forms, and supporting materials should be addressed to the National Artists Award Secretariat through the CCP Office of the Artistic Director in Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City or at the NCCA-Office of the Deputy Executive Director in Intramuros, Manila. The NCCA and CCP are jointly administering the award and made recommendations to the President.

The official nomination form can be downloaded a thttp://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_ncca/national_artist_guidelines.php or get in touch with Frances Alincastre at 527-2192 local 503 or 511.

In the thirty-five years of the award, it was already given to 57 Filipino artists of which 15 are still living - Napoleon Abueva (Sculture, 1976), Lucresia R. Kasilag (Music, 1988), Arturo Luz (Visual Arts, 1997), Daisy Avellana (Theater, 1999), Edith Tiempo (Literature, 1999), Andrea Veneracion (Music, 1999), F. Sionil Jose (Literature, 2001), Virgilio S. Almario (Literature, 2003), Salvador F. Bernal (Theater and Design, 2003), Alejandro R. Roces, Jr. (Literature, 2003), Eddie Romero (Film and Broadcast Arts, 2003), and the batch 2006 awardees - Bienvenido Lumbera (Literature), Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr. (Landscape Architecture), Abdulmari Asia Imao (Sculpture) and Benedicto R. Cabrera (Visual Arts).

Aside from the rank and title, medallion and citation, a proclaimed National Artist will have the following privileges – a cash award of Php 100,000.00 for living awardees and Php 75,000.00 for posthumous awardees, a monthly life pension, medical and hospitalization benefits, life insurance coverage for those whoa re still insurable, arrangements and expenses for a State Funeral and a place of honor at national state functions and recognition at cultural events.

The National Artists Award was established under Proclamation 1001 in 1972 and first conferred to Fernando Amorsolo on that same year. Proclamation 1144 mandated the CCP Board of Trustees to administer the award including the privileges and honors to National Artists and in 1992, upon the creation of NCCA under Republic Act 7356, the two institutions are now jointly administering the award.

Guidote-Alvarez added that the National Artists award being bestow by the Republic, is not only a recognition of highest achievements in the arts but it in turns honors our own cultural heritage and the Filipino expression of culture and traditions, history, way of life and aspirations.

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