NCCA, CCP now accepting nominations for the Order of National Artist Award

Heads up, Vilmanians and Noranians. It's that time of the year when industry legends are exalted.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines on Tuesday officially opened the nominations for the Order of National Artist Award, the highest national recognition to Filipino artists.

The President of the Philippines will be conferring the awards under the following categories: dance, music, theater, visual arts, literature, film and broadcast arts, design, and architecture and allied arts.

In 2016, former president Benigno Aquino III conferred the awards on artists proclaimed in 2009 and 2014, namely Manuel Conde (film and broadcast arts, posthumous), Lazaro Francisco (literature, posthumous), Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (visual arts, posthumous), Alicia Garcia Reyes (dance), Cirilo Bautista (literature), Francisco Coching (visual arts, posthumous), Francisco Feliciano (music, posthumous), Dr. Ramon Santos (music) and Jose Maria Zaragoza (architecture, design and allied arts, posthumous).

A campaign to bestow the National Artist Award for Cinema upon Superstar Nora Aunor gained traction in 2014, but Aquino had reservations due to drug-related charges.

Only six members from the industry have been recognized as National Artists for Cinema: Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernál, Gerardo de León, Eddie S. Romero, Fernando Poe, Jr., and Manuel Conde.

Since it's creation in 1972, 66 artists have been given the honor for their cultural contributions to the country.

In a statement shared with the press, the NCCA said that the nominees "will be 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 full criteria and the nomination form are available at ncca.gov.ph.

Nominations are due on or before September 30, 2017. — AT/LA/KVD, GMA News