GAWAD SA MANLILIKHANG BAYAN AND THEIR
CONTRIBUTION TO PHILIPPINE ARTS
In April 1992, the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or the
National Living Treasures Award was institutionalized through
Republic Act No. 7355. Tasked with the administration and
implementation of the Award is the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the highest policy-making and
coordinating body for culture and the arts of the State. The NCCA,
through the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee and an Ad
Hoc Panel of Experts, conducts the search for the finest traditional
artists of the land, adopts a program that will ensure the transfer of
their skills to others and undertakes measures to promote a genuine
appreciation of and instill pride among our people about the genius
of the Manlilikha ng Bayan.
This award is being conferred to Filipino artists who
practice preservation and promotion of the nation’s traditional
arts.
As envisioned under R.A. 7355, "Manlilikha ng Bayan" shall
mean a citizen 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 generation in his/her community
with the same degree of technical and artistic competence.
CRITERIA AND QUALIFICATIONS
To become a Manlilikha ng Bayan, the candidate must
satisfy the following minimum criteria:
• Technical and creative skill – The candidate must possess
a mastery of the 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;
• Artistic quality – The work of the candidate must be
outstanding aesthetically, and he/she must have
consistently produced over a significant period, works of
superior quality;
• Community tradition – The candidate must have
transferred and/or willing to transfer to other members of
the community, skills in the folk art for which the
community has become nationally known.
• Folk art tradition – The candidate must have engaged in
a folk art tradition that has been in existence and
documented for at least fifty (50) years; and
• Character and integrity – As a precious treasure of the
country, the candidate must command the respect and
admiration of the country for his character and integrity.
However, a candidate who, due to age or infirmity, has left
him/her/them incapable of teaching further his/her/their craft, may
still be recognized provided that he/she/they must possess the
qualifications enumerated above.
AWARDS
For the individual awardee:
• The rank and title of Manlilikha ng Bayan, as proclaimed
by the President of the Philippines in accordance with
Executive Order No. 236 or Honors Code of the Philippines;
• The GAMABA gold-plated medallion minted by the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and citation;
• A lifetime emolument and materials and physical
benefits comparable in value to those received by the
highest officers of the land such as
o A minimum cash award of Two Hundred
Thousand Pesos (Php 200,000.00), net of taxes.
o A minimum lifetime personal monthly stipend
of Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php 50,000.00).
o Medical and hospitalization benefits
exceeding Php 750,000.00 per year
• A state funeral, the arrangements for and the expenses of
which shall be borne by the Government, upon the death
of the Manlilikha ng Bayan; and
• A place of honor, in line with protocol precedence, in
state functions, national commemoration ceremonies and
all other cultural presentations.
For the group awardee:
• The rank and title of Manlilikha ng Bayan, as proclaimed
by the President of the Philippines in accordance with
Executive Order No. 236 or Honors Code of the Philippines;
• The GAMABA plaque for the group;
• A one-time award of Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php
200,000.00), net of taxes;
• The group shall designate its leader who will represent
and attend events and functions on behalf of the group.
The said representative will also have a place of honor, in
line with protocol precedence, in state functions, national
commemoration ceremonies and all other cultural
presentations.
RECIPIENT OF THE NATIONAL LIVING TREASURES
AWARD OR THE GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN
LITERATURE
Ginaw Bilog
Ginaw Bilog is a Hanunuo Mangyan
poet from Mansalay, Mindoro who is
an advocate of preserving the
traditional form of his tribe called
'ambahan’. Ambahan is a kind of
poem consisting of seven-syllable
lines which most of the time
contains messages of love and
friendship. This poem is passed on
from generation to generation using
singing the lines or etching them on bamboo tubes. In the case of
Ginaw Bilog, bekept the ambahan recorded both in bam boo tubes
and old notebooks. He kept even the oldest ambahan passed on to
him by his ancestors and promoted them to other Mangyans so as to
preserve the oral tradition.
Federico Caballero
Federico Caballero is a Panay-
Bukidnon epic chanter who
preserved his community's oral
tradition by tediously
documenting epics of his
ancestors that are in near
danger of disappearance. These
epics, which tell stories about
mythical heroes and their
marvelous adventures, reflects the
rich cultural heritage of Panay-
Bukid non Furthermore, Nong
Pedring did not just document
this folklores, but be chanted
them as well and passed them to the younger generations. His
mother and great great-grandmother were the ones who influenced
him to be an epic chanter.
