GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN

(GAMABA)

• is an award that acknowledges folk and indigenous artists who, despite

the modern times, remain true to their traditions.
• It is administered by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts
(NCCA) through Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee

Republic Act No. 7355

• It is known as Manlilikha ng Bayan Act was established in 1992.

• Shall mean citizen engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino, whose
distinct skills have reached such a high level of technical and artistic
excellence, and have passed it on to in his or her community with the
same degree of technical and artistic competence.

GAMABA

• National Living Treasures Award

• The process or awarding is similar to that of the Order of the National Artists.

National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)

• The highest policy and coordinating body for culture and the arts of the
state.
• To search for the finest traditional artist of the land who adopts a program
that will ensure the transfer of their skills to others, undertakes measures to
promote a genuine appreciation of and crafts and give pride among our
people about the genius of Manlilikha ng Bayan.
• NCCA CHAIRMAN Felipe M. de Leon, Jr. spearheaded the institutionalization
of the award.
• The law was authored by senators Edgardo J. Angara, Heherson Alvarez,
Leticia ramos-Shahani, SOtero Laurel and congresswoman Kate Gordon.
Qualification of Candidate to Become Manlilikha ng Bayan

1. Inhabitant of an indigenous/traditional cultural community anywhere in the

Philippines that has preserved indigenous customs, beliefs, rituals and
traditions and/or has syncretized whatever external elements that have
influenced it
2. Must have engaged in a folk art tradition that has been in existence and
documented for at least fifty (50) years.
3. Must have consistently performed or produced over a significant period,
works of superior and distinctive quality.
4. Must possess a mastery of tools and materials needed by the art, and
must have an established reputation in the art as master and maker of
works of extraordinary technical quality.
5. Must have passed on and/or will pass on to other members of the
community their skills in the folk art for which the community is
traditionally known.
GAMABA AWARDEES
GINAW BILOG (+ 2003)
• Poet, Hanunuo Mangyan, Panaytayan, Oriental Mindoro, 1993
• Awarded for faithfully preserving the Hanunuo Mangyan script and
ambalan poetry.
• He has promoted the local script and poetry so that the art will not be
lost but preserved for posterity.
MASINO INTARAY (+ 2013),
Musician and Storyteller, Pala’wan , Brookes Point, Palawan, 1993
• He was awarded for his exemplary skills in basalor gong music
ensemble.
• He was also recognized for his versatility as musician, poet, epic
chanter and storyteller of the kulilal and bagit traditions of Pala’wan.
SAMAON SULAIMAN (+2011),
Musician,Magindanao, Mama sa Pano, Maguindanao, 1993
• He was awarded for his outstanding artistry and dedication to his
chosen instrument, the Magindanao kutyapi.
• Kutyapi is a two-stringed plucked lute,regarded as one of the most
technically demanding and difficult to master among Filipino
traditional instrument.
LANG DULAY (+2015) ,
Textile Weaver, T’boli, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato , 1998
• T’boli of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, was awarded for weaving the
abaca ikat cloth called t’nalak. She has produced creations which
remain faithful to the T’boli tradition as manifested in the complexity of
her design, fineness of workmanship and quality offinish.
SALINTA MONON (+ 2009), Textile Weaver, Tagabawa,
Bagobo, Bansalan, Davao del Sur, 1998

• She was awarded for fully demonstrating thecreative

and expressive aspects of the Bagobo abaca ikat weaving called inabal at a
time when such art is threatened with extinction.
ALONZO SACLAG (2000),
Musician and Dancer, Kalinga for Lubuagan, Kalinga
• Kalinga of Lubuagan, Kalinga was awarded for his mastery of the Kalinga
dance and the performing arts. He was also recognized for his persistence
to create and nurture a greater consciousness and appreciation of Kalinga
culture among the Kalinga themselves and beyond their borders.
FEDERICO CABALLERO (2000),
Epic Chanter, Sulod-Bukidnon, Calinog, Ilo-ilo
• He has worked hard to document the oral literature of his people. He
preserved the epics that use a language that has long been dead by
working together with scholars, artists, and advocates of culture.
WANG AHADAS (2000), Musician, Yakan , Lamitan, Basilan
• Yakan of Lamitan, Basilan was awared for his dexterity in playing Yakan
musical instruments such as the kwintagan, gabbang, agung, kwintagang
kayu, tuntungan among others. He has a deep knowledge of the aesthetic
possibilities and social contexts of those instruments. In spite of the
dimming of his eyesight, he has developed devoted his life to the teaching
of Yakan musical traditions.
DARHATA SAWABI (+ 2005), Textile Weaver, Tausug, Parang,
Sulu, 2004
• One of the master weavers in the island of Jolo. Like most women in their
tribe, she has learned the art of weaving the pis syabit, the traditional
cloth tapestry worn as head cover by the Tausu of Jolo, from her mother.
EDUARDO MUTUC, Metalsmith, Kapampangan, Apalit,
Pampanga , 2004
• Kapampangan from Central Luzon is recognized for reviving the Spanish
colonial-era craft of Plateria. This self-taught master craftsman found his
calling in producing religious and secular art in silver, bronze and wood.
In doing so, and in his pursuit of perfection for himself and his
apprentices, he assures the continuity of this rich tradition.
HAJA AMINA APPI (+ 2013 ) Mat weaver, Sama, Tandubas,
Tawi-Tawi , 2004
• She is recognized as the master mat weaver among the Sama indigenous
community of Ungos Matata. Her mats are known for their complex
geometric patterns, proportion, and unique combination of colors.
TEOFILO GARCIA , Casque Maker, Ilocano, San Quintin,
Abra, 2012
• Learned how to make gourd casques and weave baskets from his
grandfather at the age of 16. Since he learned the craft, he never stopped
experimenting with other designs. He previously used nito(vine trimmings)
to decorate the headgear and then used with other materials such as
bamboo after his supplier from Cagayan passed away.
MAGDALENA GAMAYO, Textile Weaver, Ilocano, Pinili,
Ilocos Norte, 2012
• Taught herself the traditional patterns of binakol, inuritan(geometric
design), kusikos(spiral forms similar to oranges), and sinan-sabong
(flowers). She has learned the art of weaving from her aunt and started
harnessing her innate skills at the age of 16. She may be in her late 80s but
she still manages to arrange threads on the loom, which is the hardest task
in textile weaving.
AMBALANG AUSALIN, Textile Weaver, Yakan of Basilan,
2016, (born 4 March 1943)
• Her skill is deemed incomparable: she is able to bring forth all designs
and actualize all textile categories typical to the Yakan.
She can execute the suwah bekkat(cross-stitch-like embellishment and
suwah pendan(embroidery-like embellishment) techniques of the bunga
sama category.
ESTELITA BANTILAN, Mat Weaver, Sarangani, 2016, (born
17 October 1940)
• The child Labnai, already precocious in mat weaving, took on the name
Estelita in the 1960s. When she married, becoming Mrs. Bantilan, she
raised a family in the foreign faith. But she kept to her mat weaving. She
persisted where other women could not because her husband Tuwada was
atypically supportive.
YABING MASALON DULO, Ikat Weaver, 2016, (born 8 August 1914)
• Believes herself older than ninety. Her identity card marks that age,
however, and date of birth, the fourteenth of August supposedly 1910.
Since the venerable ikat-dyer has a memory sharper than blades. It seems
always best to follow her counsel. In Mindanao, Ikat is, for the most part, an
extinct form of artmaking, community-making, equilibrium- making.
NATIONAL ARTIST
• National Artist is a Filipino citizen who has been given the rank and title of
National Artist in recognition of his or her significant contributions to the
development of Philippine arts and letters. The rank and title of National
Artist is conferred by means of a Presidential Proclamation. It recognizes
excellence in the fields of Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film
and Broadcast Arts, and Architecture or Allied Arts.
• FERNANDO AMORSOLO - The first recipient of painter award. Who was
touted as the “Grand Old Man of Philippine Art.” He was the sole awardee in
the year 1972, a National Artist for Visual Arts.
ORDER OF NATIONAL ARTISTS
• Asone of the Honors of the Philippines, it embodies the nation’s highest
ideals in humanism and aesthetic expression through the distinct
achievements of individual citizens. The Order of National Artists shares
similarities with orders, decorations, and medals of other countries
recognizing contributions to their national culture such as, the U.S. National
Medal for the Arts, and the Order of Culture of Japan.
• The Order of National Artists (Orden ng Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng
Sining) is thus a rank, a title, and a wearable award that represents the
highest national recognition given to Filipinos who have made distinct
contributions in the field of arts and letters.
• National Artists are given a Grand Collar symbolizing their status.
CRITERIA
1. Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination, as well as
those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972 Unit 3:
Recognizing the GAMABA and the National Artists but were Filipino citizens
at the time of their death;
2.Artists who, through the content and form of their works, have
contributed in building a Filipino sense of nationhood;
 3. Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style,
thus earning distinction and making an impact on succeeding generations
of artists;
4. Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of work
and/or consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form
thus enriching artistic expression or style; and
5. Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through: (a) prestigious national
and/or international recognition, such as the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining,
CCP Thirteen Artists Award and NCCA Alab ng Haraya;
(b) critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works; and (c) respect and
esteem from peers.
THE INCENTIVES RECEIVED BY THE AWARDEES
1. Rank and title of National Artist, as proclaimed by the President of the
Philippines;
2. Insignia of a National Artist and a citation;
3. Cash awards, monthly life pension, medical, and hospitalization
benefits, life insurance coverage, state funeral and burial at the Libingan
ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery), and a place of honor at national state
functions along with recognition at cultural events. Manlilika ng Bayan
awardee receives a specially designed medallion, an initial grant of
P100,000 and P10.0000 monthly stipend for life. In consonance with the
provision of Republic Act No. 7355, which states that “the monetary grant
may be increased whenever circumstances so warrant, “the NCCA board
approved monthly personal allowance of P14,000 for the awardees as well
as a maximum cumulative amount of P750,000 medical and hospitalization
benefit annually similar to that received by the National Artists and funeral
assistance /tribute fit for a National Living Treasure.
Well-known National Artist of the Philippines
LEANDRO V. LOCSIN (ARCHITECTURE, 1990)
• A man who believes that true Philippine Architecture “is the product of
two great streams of culture, the oriental and the occidental… to produce
a new object of profound harmony,” Leandro V. Locsin is the man
responsible for designing everything you see at CCP Complex – the
Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theatre, Philippine
International Convention Center, Philcite, and The Westin Hotel (now
Sofitel Philippine Plaza).
LINO BROCKA (CINEMA, 1997)
• Catalino “Lino” Ortiz Brocka is known to many as one of, if not the
greatest Filipino director of all time. He espoused “freedom of expression”
throughout all his films, injecting each and every one with a social activist
spirit. Some of his well-known works include Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang
(1974), Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag (1975), and Insiang (1976), the
latter being the first Filipino film to be shown at Cannes.
CARLOS “BOTONG” FRANCISCO (VISUAL ARTS, 1973)
• Hailing from the Art Capital of the Philippines, Angono native Carlos
“Botong” Francisco is known for single-handedly reviving the modern art of
murals through works that showed slices of the past. He was such a prolific
muralist that he became its most well-known practitioner for almost 30
years.
LEVI CELERIO (LITERATURE AND MUSIC, 1997)
• A prolific lyricist and composer, is known for having effortlessly
translating or rewriting lyrics of traditional Filipino melodies like “O
Maliwanag Na Buwan” (Iloko), “Ako ay May Singsing” (Pampango), and
“Alibangbang” (Visaya). He’s also been immortalized in the Guinness Book
of World Records as the only person to make music using just a leaf.
WILFRIDO MA. GUERRERO (THEATER, 1997)
• He is a teacher and theater artist who, in his 35 years of teaching, has
mentored some of the country’s best Filipino performing artists, including
Joy Virata and Joonee Gamboa. He is also the founder and artistic director
of the UP Mobile Theater, leading the way for the concept of a theater
campus by bringing theater closer to students and audiences in the
countryside.
LEONOR OROSA GOQUINGCO
• A pioneer Filipino choreographer known to many as “The Trailblazer,”
“The Mother of Philippine Theater Dance,” and “Dean of Filipino
Performing Arts Critics.” She has produced stunning choreographies
during her 50-year career, highlighted by “Filipinescas: Philippine Life,
Legend, and Love,” which elevated native folk dance to its highest stage
ofdevelopment.
SIONIL JOSE (LITERATURE, 2001)
• One of the few living national artists, F. Sionil Jose is best known for
creating the five-novel masterpiece known as the Rosales saga: Poon; Tree;
My Brother, My Executioner; The Pretenders; and Mass. Set in the town of
Rosales, Pangasinan, it talks about the five generations of two families, the
Samsons and the Asperri, during the Spanish and American occupation.
LUCRECIA R. KASILAG (MUSIC, 1989)
• If you’re a fan of Filipino artists that blend Filipino ethnic and Western
music, then you should probably get to know Lucrecia R. Kasilag. An
educator, composer, performing artist, administrator, and cultural
entrepreneur, she is seen as the pioneering figure for fusing Filipino ethnic
and Western music, helping elevate Filipino’s appreciation for music. Her
best work is the prize-winning Toccata for Percussions and Winds,
Divertissement and Concertante, which incorporates indigenous Filipino
instruments.

7 NEWLY AWARDED ARTISTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. LARRY ALCALA - National Artist for Visual Arts Editorial cartoonist and
illustrator Alcala’s pen brought to life the cartoon series Slice of Life in the
Weekend Magazine, Mang Ambo in the Weekly Graphic, and Kalabog en
Bosyo, the first comic strip where characters spoke in Taglish. His many
works portrayed the idiosyncracies of the Filipino, especially our ability to
laugh at ourselves in the face of great adversity, as personified in the
character of Mang Ambo. The two detectives in Kalabog en Bosyo were
brought to the big screen and played by comedians Dolphy and Panchito
in a film by Sampaguita Pictures. HE DIED IN 2002 AT THE AGE OF 75.

2. AMELIA LAPEÑA BONIFACIO - National Artist for Theater For her work in
writing plays, promoting children’s theater, and puppetry, Bonifacio has
been called the “Grande Dame of Southeast Asian Children’s Theater.” She
has penned 40 plays, 20 books, and 30 stories, according to panitikan.ph,
and was chairperson of the University of the Philippines’ Creative Writing
Program. She founded Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, a children’s theater
and puppetry troupe based in UP.
3. RYAN CAYABYAB - National Artist for Music “Mr C” is perhaps the most famous
Filipino composer in recent history. He has composed musical scores for award-
winning films, 10 full-length Filipino musicals, full-length ballets, a major opera,
and a plethora of songs, including beloved classics like “Tuwing Umuulan at
Kapiling Ka” and “Da Coconut Nut.” A force for original Pilipino music, he has
spearheaded the Philippine PopularMusic Festival and served as judge in talent
shows, like Philippine Idol and Philippine Dream Academy. He leads the 7-
member Ryan Cayabyab Singers.
4. FRANCISCO "BOBBY" MAÑOSA - National Artist for Architecture If Mañosa is a
name unknown to you, the same likely cannot be said of his iconic works. The
architect known for his modern interpretation of Philippine architectural design
and use of indigenous materials is behind the Coconut Palace, world-famous
Amanpulo Resort in Palawan, Pearl Farm in Samal Island, ShangriLa Hotel in
Mactan, and the San Miguel building in Mandaluyong, among others. For his
pioneering vision and promotion of indigenous Filipino architecture, Mañosa has
garnered many accolades, both locally and internationally.

5. RESIL MOJARES - National Artist for Literature Mojares is a multi-awarded writer,

historian, and literary critic. His works include Origins and Rise of the Filipino Novel,
The War Against the Americans, and books about eminent Filipinos, such as Vicente
Sotto, Pedro Paterno, Isabelo delos Reyes, and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera. He has
won several National Book Awardsfrom the Manila Critics Circle and founded the
Cebuano Studies Center, a library and research center dedicated to Cebuano culture
and history.
6. RAMON MOZUNES, National Artist for Literature Muzones is the preeminent name
in West Visayan fiction. He is best known for his Hiligaynon novel Margosatubig: The
Story of Salagunting, about a fictional Muslim state in Mindanao and the struggles of
its hero, Salagunting, to wrest it from the clutches of usurpers. A tale that combines
intrigue, romance, pre-colonial lore, fantasy, and adventure, it unfolded as a series in
the Hiligaynon magazine Yuhum. In 1989, he received the Gawad CCP para sa Sining,
an award given every 3 years to artists whose works have enriched their art form. His
proclamation as National Artist is posthumous as Muzones died in 1992.
7. KIDLAT TAHIMIK - National Artist for Cinema Widely regarded as the father of
independent Philippine cinema, Kidlat Tahimik (real name: Eric de Guia) is known for
creating films that humorously but evocatively critique neocolonialism. A native of
Baguio City, Tahimik has garnered numerous international and local awards for his
films. His first, Perfumed Nightmare (1977), won the International Critics Award at
the Berlin Film Festival. He has gone on to inspire generations of Filipino filmmakers
to forge on with their independent vision, regardless of commercial considerations.
In 2009, he received the UP Gawad Plaridel Award, the University of the Philippines’
highest award recognizing achievements in media.