Nora Aunor nomination as national artist not yet with Malacañang

Malacañang on Wednesday said it will take into consideration the nomination of superstar Nora Aunor as national artist once it is submitted to them.   “If and when a submission is given, then we’ll certainly take it under consideration,” Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, said at a press briefing.   He noted that Aunor has had a very good and storied career in movies. “She’s certainly one of the people that are respected in the industry.”   Bacolod City Rep. Anthony Golez Jr. has filed House Resolution 2317 urging President Benigno Aquino III, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to include Aunor in the roster of the country’s national artists.   The resolution has to undergo committee deliberations and will have to be adopted by the plenary for it to be passed by the House of Representatives.   According to the NCCA website, the Order of National Artists (Orden ng Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) is the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts; namely, Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film and Broadcast Arts, and Architecture and Allied Arts.   The order is jointly administered by the NCCA and CCP and conferred by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation by both institutions.   The Order of National Artists is one of the Honors of the Philippines that embodies the nation’s highest ideals in humanism and aesthetic expression through the distinct achievements of individual citizens.   While the Republic bestows due recognition to these singular achievements, it in turn honors its own cultural heritage, whose enrichment these achievements have significantly effected, enhanced, and given direction.   These achievements are 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.   Those conferred with the Order of National Artists receive:

• The rank and title of National Artist, as proclaimed by the President of the Philippines;
• The National Artist medallion and citation;
• Lifetime emolument and material and physical benefits comparable in value to those received by the highest officers of the land such as:
• a cash award of P100,000.00, net of taxes for living awardees;
• a cash award of P75,000.00, net of taxes for posthumous awardees, payable to legal heir/s;
• a monthly life pension, medical and hospitalization benefits;
• life insurance coverage for Awardees who are still insurable;
• arrangements and expenses for a state funeral;
• a place of honor, in line with protocular precedence, at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.