Who will be BBM’s choice?

Not for a running mate, no! At the risk of sounding like local talent contest teasers attempting to grab attention with cliffhangers, let us ask that burning question about the Marcos Jr. administration and its possible picks for the National Artist distinction.

 Who will make it to the distinguished current roster of 81 awardees in eight categories? 

Since its inception under Ferdinand Edralin Marcos’ presidency in 1972, the National Artist program has lauded men and women (more men than women at a whopping 80 percent!) in Architecture, Dance, Design, Film and Broadcast Arts, Literature, Music, Theater and Visual Arts.

The Marcos Jr. administration is clearly not averse nor dismissive of the arts and culture, having been generous with its time and resources to nurture various sectors that contribute to the preservation of our heritage. 

Mainly through the initiative of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, whose support of the arts has been widely acknowledged, this leadership’s latest effort to bring recognition to Filipino traditional artists was the GAMABA (Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan) Conferment in May 2025. 

Before the GAMABA, Marcos Jr. conferred posthumous Presidential Medals of Merit on four cultural icons: Nora Aunor, Pilita Corrales, Gloria Romero and Margarita Fores. 

Nora Aunor, interestingly, was finally proclaimed a National Artist during the time of President Rodrigo Duterte, but her nomination during the presidency of the late President Benigno Aquino III was controversial after her brush with drug authorities abroad many years before was brought up.

Under the Philippine presidents since Marcos Sr., the number of National Artists did grow, but looking at the lists closely, it becomes obvious that under the two female former Chief Executives, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Corazon Aquino, only three of the 28 total National Artist awardees were women. 

Under the Fidel V. Ramos presidency, no women made the cut. Duterte (surprisingly or not) awarded the most number of women — six out of 15 awardees.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has yet to proclaim anyone. While he has been active in leading the Ani ng Dangal awards and the awarding of the nine new National Living Treasures, he has not breathed a hint about the new batch of National Artists, the most recent of whom were proclaimed by his predecessor in June 2022.

Perhaps, under his term, some or all of the women I have seen in my lifetime bring honor and distinction to the Philippines through their work and talent will be recognized. I believe it must be pointed out that in the realm of Music, five women are National Artists out of 15. In Dance, five out of six are women, but in the Visual Arts, there are zero women out of 17 painters, sculptors and comics artists. 

Thus far, recalling a piece I wrote in this space a week ago, there are many extremely talented individuals, whether in Music, Dance, Visual Arts, Fashion Design and so on, who should have their rightful place in the roster. 

The Order of National Artists is typically conferred every three years. The call for nominations for the next cycle was made in 2023 and closed in June 2024. Presumably, if the selection and deliberation processes went smoothly, then the proclamation should be sometime this year. We are agog!