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.
First awarded in 1993 to three outstanding artists in music and poetry, the Gawad sa Manlilikha
ng Bayan has its roots in the 1988 National Folk Artists Award organized by the Rotary Club of Makati-
Ayala. As a group, these folk and traditional artists reflect the diverse heritage and cultural traditions
that transcend their beginnings to become part of our national character. As Filipinos, they bring age-
old customs, crafts and ways of living to the attention and appreciation of Filipino life. They provide us
with a vision of ourselves and of our nation, a vision we might be able to realize someday, once we are
given the opportunity to be true to ourselves as these artists have remained truthful to their art.
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.
LIST OF AWARDEES
Ginaw Bilog Masino Intaray Samaon Sulaiman
Lang Dulay Salinta Monon Alonzo Saclag
Federico Caballero Uwang Ahadas Darhata Sawabi
Eduardo Mutuc Haja Amina Appi Teofilo Garcia
Magdalena Gamayo Ambalang Ausalin Estelita Bantilan
Yabing Masalon Dulo
The Order of National Artists (Orden ng 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, Broadcast Arts,
and Architecture and Allied Arts. The order is jointly administered by the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and conferred by
the President of the Philippines upon recommendation by both institutions.
ARCHITECTURE
Pablo S. Antonio Leandro V. Locsin Juan F. Nakpil
Ildefonso P. Santos Jose Maria V. Zaragoza Francisco T. Mañosa
CINEMA
Lamberto V. Avellana Lino Brocka Ishmael Bernal
Manuel Conde Gerardo de Leon Ronald Alan K. Poe
Eddie S. Romero Kidlat Tahimik
VISUAL ARTS
Fernando Amorsolo Hernando R. Ocampo Benedicto Cabrera
Carlos “Botong” Francisco Cesar Legaspi Abdulmari Asia Imao
Guillermo E. Tolentino Arturo Luz Federico Aguilar Alcuaz
Napoleon V. Abueva J. Elizalde Navarro Francisco Coching
Victorio C. Edades Ang Kiukok Jose T. Joya
Vicente Manansala Larry Alcala
LITERATURE
Francisco Arcellana Edith L. Tiempo Bienvenido Lumbera
N.V.M. Gonzalez Virgilio S. Almario Cirilo F. Bautista
Nick Joaquin Amado V. Hernandez Lazaro Francisco
F. Sionil Jose Carlos P. Romulo Jose Garcia Villa
Alejandro Roces Rolando S. Tinio Levi Celerio
Resil B. Mojares Ramon L. Muzones
FASHION DESIGN
Ramon Valera
THEATER DESIGN
Salvador F. Bernal
DANCE
Francisca Reyes Aquino Ramon Obusan Alice Reyes
Leonor Orosa Goquingco Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula
HISTORICAL LITERATURE
Carlos Quirino
MUSIC
Antonino Buenaventura Jose Maceda Lucrecia R. Kasilag
Ernani J. Cuenco Lucio San Pedro Antonio J. Molina
Francisco Feliciano Levi Celerio Ramon P. Santos
Jovita Fuentes Felipe Padilla de Leon Andrea Veneracion
Honorata “Atang” dela Rama Ryan Cayabyab
THEATER
Daisy Avellana Rolando S. Tinio Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero
Honorata “Atang” dela Rama Salvador F. Bernal Severino Montano
Lamberto V. Avellana Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio
