Lawmakers push for posthumous Nat’l Artist Award for Dolphy

Lawmakers on Wednesday pushed for a posthumous National Artist Award for veteran comedian Dolphy (Rodolfo Quizon Sr. in real life), who died on Tuesday night due to multiple organ failure.

 

In a statement, Senator Manuel Villar Jr. said he “will forever be indebted to Dolphy for his friendship and for bringing laughter to our lives.”

 

“We will never forget Dolphy. His talent and compassion for those who have less in life will always make a Filipino proud,” Villar said.

 

During the 2010 presidential elections, Dolphy endorsed the candidacy of Villar. The veteran comedian even appeared in a television campaign advertisement for the senator, where he vouched for Villar’s integrity and humble beginnings.

 

Villar, however, lost his bid for the country’s top elective post to President Benigno Aquino III.

 

Dolphy, fondly called “The King of Comedy” by Filipinos, passed away at the age of 83 on Tuesday night, a month after he was rushed to the Makati Medical Center for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 'More than worthy'

 

Villar further said that Dolphy achieved a feat more than worthy of a National Artist Award throughout the comedian’s career in cinema.

 

“Ang pagdakila at pagtangi ng ating mga kababayan kay Dolphy ngayon at maging noong siya ay nabubuhay pa ay higit pa sa karangalan na nakuha ng isang National Artist,” the senator said.

 

The National Artist Award is considered “the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts.” 

 

According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the National Artist Award can still be given to Filipino citizens who died after the establishment of the award in 1972.

 

Among those who were posthumously given the National Artist Award were painter Fernando Amorsolo, film maker Manuel Urbano, and actor Fernando Poe Jr.

 

Legal heirs of a person granted the National Artist Award posthumously are given a cash award of P75,000, aside from a medallion and citation for the deceased awardee.

 

 'Do justice to a comedy genius'

 

Quezon City Rep. Winnie Castelo also joined calls for the posthumous conferment of the National Artist Award to Dolphy, saying it “is the best way to recognize him even after his death.”

 

“When alive, Dolphy was decent not to covet the award. The Aquino administration should, however, take the necessary steps for its conferment because this is the way to do justice to an outstanding comedy genius, who was the friend of the Filipino people for many decades,” the lawmaker said.

 

Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy, for her part, said the nation’s grief over Dolphy’s passing “can only be assuaged” if the veteran comedian is finally distinguished as a National Artist.

 

“The outpouring of love and sympathy extended to the family of the Dolphy by nearly every Filipino in the archipelago is a glaring indication of how deeply we admire him for the laughter and joy he gifted us in the past several decades… Dolphy as a National Artist is not a debatable issue,” she said in a separate statement.

 

Malacañang maintained Wednesday that the conferment of a posthumous National Artist Award to Dolphy should still undergo proper process. — RSJ, GMA News