This is a re-posted opinion piece.
Shortly after EDSA I in 1986, I wondered what an editor/publisher of a journal could do to assist the new government and its leaders. They would be so involved in the nitty-gritty tedium of rebuilding the nation from the rubble of the Marcos dictatorship — they would have little time to think, to plan. With contributors to my journal, Solidarity, and leaders from the private sector I set up a series of seminars on our major problems, agrarian reform, education, the bureaucracy, the communist and Moro rebellions, culture, etc. I then convened the participants in a two-day conference, the results of which were published in a book, An Agenda for the 21st Century — a Baedeker on our journey towards the future, similar to John Forbes’ Arangkada. It is visionary but with workable solutions to our major problems. I immediately distributed the book free to government agencies, Congress, non-government organizations and educators.
When that conference was in the planning stage I looked around for a national figure with an intellectual background to guide the conference. I found him in Edgardo J. Angara who was then president of the University of the Philippines.
He embodied then (and still does) the philosopher-king approach that an enlightened and democratically inclined people would like to lead them.
In planning the conference on nation and culture which will be held this Saturday at the Cultural Center, I looked around again for a man so gifted and committed to this country and people and, again, found him in Edgardo J. Angara who, since that memorable conference in 1986, showed himself to be the national leader most actively engaged and committed to our cultural uplifting.
Ed Angara was born in Baler — that small and isolated town in the southern Luzon, hemmed in by the Sierra Madre range and the Pacific Ocean. Baler is, of course, known as the birthplace of our first president, Manuel L. Quezon, but it is Edgardo Angara who placed it literally on the map. He did these with books not just on Quezon himself, but on his town, celebrated it with a motion picture, in literature, and now in tourism, for it is one of the major surfing destinations in the country. Baler attracts people now because it also produced a collector of ancient maps, an agricultural developer, an educator, a cultural activist and a staunch friend of the aged. This is what Angara has become.
Let me elaborate.
After he left the University of the Philippines presidency, Angara went into politics. As legislator, he authored some of the country’s most important laws benefiting the young, the Free High School Act, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (TESDA), The National Book Publishing Development Act.
His contributions to our cultural heritage include laws that created the National Museum, the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
He is now hard at work rekindling our ties with Spain and Mexico — the two Spanish-speaking countries which figure so much in our history. If he had his way, there would be a Rizal Center (Bahay Rizal) in every major city in the world; he has already established one in Madrid and he hopes there will be more particularly in those countries where there are so many Filipinos — a place where they can gather, a showcase as well for Philippine art and culture. Such a program will most probably crop up in the sessions on Saturday.
On his own, Senator Angara initiated cultural exchanges between the Philippines and Mexico and Spain. Last week, he hosted a reception for Mexico’s First Lady, Madame Margarita Zavala whose Manila visit was also his initiative. During the reception, the commemorative stamps celebrating the Galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco were presented.
Senator Angara is married to the former Gloria Manalang who, in her own right, is also a cultural activist with a special interest in dance. The couple have three daughters, Anna, Alex, and Katya Lopez-Vito, all of whom are also cultural workers. The son, Juan Edgardo, is serving his last term in the Lower House; he is following in his father’s footsteps.
The National Artist Award: The Controversy Continued
Meanwhile, it is not surprising that the Supreme Court is taking its time in settling the controversy over the National Artist Award that started three years ago when a third-rate movie director coveted it. Our justices — in fact most Filipino leaders — consider culture unimportant. Since then, it has also come out that this director has been earning millions — in contrast to the pittance that so many of our very talented writers are getting. In fact, all of them cannot make a living on their work; they have to take other jobs such as teaching, newspapering or writing advertising copy. This is the piteous fate of writers such that when young people ask me for advice about becoming writers, I tell them to forget it. But I know if they are truly committed, poverty will not stop them. Knowing this, I then tell them that if they don’t have money, they should marry someone rich so that they will not starve.
I do hope that the Supreme Court will act on the matter very soon, so that the National Artist Award will continue.
I don’t know how the rules are formulated — if it is enough that they are created by presidential decree, by legislation or by action of both the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
I offer the following proposal, which may at first seem self-serving. To avoid this condition, I suggest that if these new rules are promulgated they should take effect when all the present National Artists are dead.
The Proposal
At any given time, there should only be SEVEN National Artists, one from the seven categories. Upon the death of a National Artist, only then should the deceased be replaced through the established selection process. The selection should be made immediately after the National Artist dies, so that within a month after the necrology, the new National Artist will be announced.
“Several distinguished artists are functionaries of government, of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). They should not be excluded, but they should submit themselves to the selection process and should not be allowed to vote.
“The President may also submit nominees.
“The new National Artist will be selected by the President from a list of three finalists determined by the selection committee. This will be similar to the appointment of the new Supreme Court Justice from a list submitted to the President by the Judicial Bar Council. In this way, the Chief Executive will have the final say on the selection process. But the Chief Executive cannot add or detract from the submitted list.
“The emoluments for the National Artist will consist of the following:
“A monthly allowance equal to that of the current pay of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
“Complete medical assistance, hospitalization including cost of medicines, doctor consultation. All these must be in the Philippines.
“The initial award should be one million pesos to be increased in accordance with prevailing financial levels.
“A million pesos annually for a project to be undertaken by the National Artist as approved by the NCCA.
“The other honors, emoluments as already specified.
“To prevent the proliferation of categories, the Award should be given only to the most important artists in the Seven Arts. The award for dressmakers for instance, should be scrapped.
“The selection of the National Artist should be strictly limited to the following categories:
MUSIC — composer, singer/musician, conductor
LITERATURE — poet, fictionist, playwright
VISUAL ARTS — painter, sculptor
ARCHITECTURE — architect
THEATER — director, actor/actress
DANCE — choreographer, performer, dancer
FILM — director, actor/actress.”
Honorary functions:
The National Artist may be given by the President ceremonial functions. The American Poet Laureate is the ranking officer of the Library of Congress.
“They will in no way participate in the administration of these institutions; they will represent these institutions only in official functions: The National Artist for Literature as President of the National Library; The National Artist for the Visual Arts as President of the National Museum; The National Artist for Music as President of the Cultural Center.”
The Real And The Dubious Awards
Philippine awards come in all forms. Some of them are phony and can be bought. These are usually given by organizations that have goods to sell.
The most prestigious are the Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Awards and the Metrobank Foundation Awards for the best teachers, or the best policemen. But even the RM Award had been criticized not so much for its choices but for the fact that for several years, it was headed by a member of the oligarchy.
The Palanca Award, which has been functioning for 60 years, is the most prestigious literary award. Founded by the business tycoon Carlos Palanca Jr. in honor of his father, Carlos Palanca, it has endured this long as administered now by the heirs of the founder, notably Sylvia Palanca Quirino. Actually the award is a contest with judges changing every year. This singular effort deserves this nation’s highest recognition.
The National Book Award will truly become prestigious when it is administered by an institution like the University of the Philippines, in the same manner that the Pulitzer Prize in the United States is administered by Columbia University.
The Zobels who have all the money in the world can support an award equal to the Nobel. They have the Premio Zobel, which is limited to Spanish writing, thereby automatically narrowing its reach and influence.
The two magazines, The Philippines Free Press and The Philippine Graphic, are publishing fiction and poetry and both also have annual awards for their creative writers. But the Free Press closed shop this year and it is hoped that it will resume publication very soon.
To honor the late Nick Joaquin, the Graphic has been giving awards to its fictionists for so long, it deserves recognition, too. Now, it is the only publication in English that publishes fiction and poetry. Not The STAR, the Bulletin or the Inquirer. These papers do not seem to value literary work, unlike newspapers in China, Japan, Korea which have regular literary sections. Publishers must realize that creative writers are not only better writers than the ordinary reporter — look at the journalism of Nick Joaquin!
Awards — even those of dubious origins — are regarded as tokens of success. They serve as magnets for achievement and excellence. And for the writers who never earn enough, awards are always welcome.
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By: F Sionil Jose – Hindsight
Source: The Philippine Star, Nov. 28, 2011
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