Legarda honors 10 new National Artists, calls for sustained support for Filipino arts and culture

Senator Loren Legarda paid tribute to the ten distinguished Filipinos proclaimed as National Artists for 2025, hailing the recognition as a celebration of the creativity, memory, and imagination that give the nation its identity.

Conferred through Proclamation No. 1414, the Order of National Artists, the country’s highest state recognition for the arts, honors outstanding contributions to architecture, dance, design, film and broadcast arts, literature, music, theater, and the visual arts.

“Taos-puso kong binabati ang ating sampung bagong Pambansang Alagad ng Sining. Pinalawak nila ang paraan ng pagtingin natin sa ating sarili at sa ating lipunan. Ang pagkilalang ito ay pagpapatibay na ang kanilang ambag ay mahalagang bahagi ng intelektuwal at kultural na pamana ng bansa,” Legarda said.

The new National Artists are architect Gabriel P. Formoso, danseur Rafael “Nonoy” Froilan, designer Maria Beatriz “Patis” Tesoro, screenwriter Armando “Bing” Lao, writer Gregorio C. Brillantes, playwright and scholar Nicanor G. Tiongson, composer Alfredo S. Buenaventura, lighting designer Teodoro L. Hilado, visual artist Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, and painter Nunelucio M. Alvarado. Formosa, Lao, Brillantes, and Hilado received the recognition posthumously.

Legarda said the breadth of this year’s roster underscores the many disciplines through which Filipino culture is shaped and expressed, from architecture and dance to literature, cinema, music, stagecraft, design, and the visual arts.

The roster also marks a milestone, with Cajipe-Endaya becoming the first woman named National Artist for the Visual Arts, a distinction Legarda welcomed as important recognition of the generations of Filipino women who have helped shape the country’s artistic and cultural life.

“Ang sining ang isa sa pinakamahalagang tala ng ating pagkatao bilang isang bansa. Sa isang larawan, tula, pelikula, awit, pagtatanghal, tela, o gusali, nananatili ang bakas ng isang panahon at mga taong nabuhay rito. Kaya mahalagang ang mga likhang ito ay nakikita, napag-aaralan, napangangalagaan, at naipapasa sa mga susunod na henerasyon,” she said.

For Legarda, state recognition of artistic excellence must be matched by sustained public investment in the people, institutions, and communities that keep Filipino arts and culture alive.

A long-time advocate for Philippine arts and heritage, Legarda authored the National Cultural Heritage Act, which established stronger mechanisms to protect and conserve the country’s cultural heritage and strengthened the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

She continues this work in the 20th Congress through the proposed Department of Culture Act, which seeks to establish a dedicated government institution with the mandate and resources to strengthen cultural governance, protect heritage, and support Filipino artists, cultural workers, and culture-bearers.

“Tungkulin nating pangalagaan hindi lamang ang mga obra maestra kundi ang mga kamay at talentong lumilikha at bumubuhay sa mga ito. Kapag hindi natin naipasa ang kaalaman, kasanayan, at malikhaing tradisyong bumubuo sa ating sinig at kultura, may mga tradisyong pansining at kultura tayong maaaring tuluyan naring mawala at malimutan,” Legarda added.

She stressed that cultural preservation must also allow traditions to remain part of contemporary Filipino life. This includes creating spaces for traditional knowledge and craftsmanship to be passed on, providing artists and cultural workers opportunities to practice their craft, and ensuring that younger Filipinos encounter Philippine art and heritage in their communities, schools, museums, performances, books, films, and other cultural spaces.

The proclamation is the first conferment of National Artists since 2022. Legarda said the occasion should encourage Filipinos to revisit the works of the honorees and recognize the larger community of artists and culture-bearers whose work continues across the country.

“Our National Artists give shape to who we are as a people, and in honoring them, we affirm that Filipino creativity, memory, and imagination are worth protecting. Sa bawat Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ay may kuwento ng ating bayan. Nawa’y patuloy nating pahalagahan, alagaan, at ipagmalaki ang sining na nagbubuklod sa ating lahat,” Legarda concluded. (30)