Death of the National Artist Award

I cannot believe that the Palace (of doom) has infiltrated and deprecated even the arts and culture sector of the country. Moreover, if the concerned artists declared by the Palace have respect for the award, they will not make things worse by imposing themselves. If they believe they deserve the award, this is not the way to do it. There is a process which, obviously, good ol' madam president has--AS ALWAYS--disregarded. That is a slap in the face of the artist community who have treated their work with purity and without the disgusting touch of politics. Disgraced, dishonored, scandalized.. oooh these are still mild words to describe what they've done. The artists gave it a more appropriate term.

BINABOY ang award na ito. Tulad ng PAGBABOY sa iba't ibang sektor na ng bansa. Tulad ng lahat ng KABABUYANG ginagawa nilang harap-harapan sa atin. Aba, kung tutuusin, LUBOS na mas malinis pa ang totoong baboy kung ikukumpara sa mga kabalbalang pinaggagagawa ng mga 'to. Pasensya na. Matagal na tayong nagtitiis sa marahas at baboy na pamamalakad sa atin. Mukha kasing hindi pa sapat ang lahat ng paghihirap na dinulot nila kaya pati ang sining natin na siyang isa sa mga kaunting natitirang aspeto na maganda sa bansa ay dudumihan nila ng kanilang pang-aabuso ng kapangyarihan. Hindi na nakuntento. Pasensya na rin dahil kahit ano pang sabihin nila, sinasabi na ng utak ko na kabaliktaran ang ibig sabihin nila. Sa madaling salita, ubos na ang pagtitiwala ko. Sa totoo lang, hinihintay ko na lang ang 2010 at umaasang mabura maski ang anino ng mga taong itong nangbaboy sa bansa.

Magko-quote ako sa mga nabasa ko tungkol sa isyu ng National Artist Award. Ito ang isa sa mga sinabi ni Carlo J. Caparas, ayon sa isang article ng Inquirer. Ako po ang naghighlight gamit ang bold fonts.

‘Why me?’

Caparas said, “I don’t understand why people are making a big fuss about this. It’s sad that they have to resort to this tactic. It’s because it’s the first time for a National Artist to have such a long title.

“I’m not being conceited. I just want to point out the truth. The past winners are not well-known. ’Di nila mapalutang ang award na ito. Ngayon lang ulit napapag-usapan (They can’t make this award shine. It’s only now that it’s being talked about again),” he said.

‘Personal attack’

Caparas said that through his work in TV, film and comics, he was able to provide employment to hundreds of Filipinos.

“I ask this question of other National Artists: Have you helped anyone in your work? I think this is not about the National Artist award anymore. It’s a personal attack on me,” he said.

Caparas singled out National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose, whom he described as “a mere sectoral or campus artist.”

“He writes for a school. Not everyone knows about his work. Does that mean people not familiar with the things he does should also protest his being a National Artist?” Caparas argued, adding:

“He said he walked out on my movies. But while he was walking out, millions were arriving to watch ‘The Maggie de la Riva Story.’ Who has the problem—the only one who walked out or the millions of viewers who came to watch my film?”

Caparas said “The Maggie de la Riva Story,” released in 1994, held the all-time high box office record. “The population of Metro Manila at that time was 10 million. Four million people came to watch my film. Ask the film’s producer, Viva Productions, if you think I’m lying to you."

Nothing personal

Lumbera and Almario said they had nothing personal against Caparas and Alvarez, and that any critique of their contribution to Philippine culture could have been discussed thoroughly if their names had been submitted for deliberations.

“[But] what is the power of Caparas’ art on the consciousness of the masses? His movies were not important,” Lumbera said.

He said that if Caparas was chosen for his film work, “what about Dolphy, Nora (Aunor) or Vilma (Santos) or Mike de Leon?”

On Alvarez, Almario recalled that when he was NCCA executive director, he was also nominated for the National Artist award but he declined.

“In her case, it is not only an issue of delicadeza but a moral question as well,” he said. With reports from Marinel R. Cruz and Jerome Aning

Personally, I think this is a shocking revelation of what a lot of people think art is and what an artist is.

Mga kababayan, ano ba sa tingin niyo ang tunay na ibig sabihin ng "art" ngayon? Kung ang kahusayan mo ay nahuhusgahan na pala sa numero ng mga taong nanood ng pelikula mo, aba, edi ang dami na pala nating pwedeng maging National Artist! Napakadali naman pala eh! O kung maraming nagbabasa ng libro mo, National Artist ka na rin ba? Kung ganon, kung pinoy man si Stephenie Meyer eh magiging National Artist na rin siya dahil sa milyon-milyong kopya ng Twilight na nabenta niya at maraming pang naloka. Sa mga artista, alam niyo ba ang kaibahan ng "stars" sa "actors"? Sabi nga nila, we have plenty of stars but a few actors. Kasikatan. Iyon ba ang sukat? Naglalaho ang kasikatan, mga pare ko. Sa paglaho ba nito, may nananatili pa bang katotohanan, kagandahan, at kaayusan na ipinapahiwatig at binubuo ang kaluluwa at pag-iisip ng tao? Sa "consciousness" ng tao, sabi nga ni Bienvenido Lumbera.

Sabi ni Carlo Caparas, "I ask this question of other National Artists: Have you helped anyone in your work?" Tama bang itanong iyan? Katawa-tawa lang naman po dahil ang mga National Artist na kinikiwestyon mo ang pagtulong sa tao, sila lang naman po ang mga taong dedikado sa trabaho nila na maraming natuturuan at kumikilos hindi para bumenta ang gawa nila pero dahil ito para sa kanila ang maganda, kaaya-aya at totoo. Carlo Caparas, tanong ko sayo, sino ba ang ideyal mo sa mga ginagawa mo? Sino ang lokal na iniidolo mo sa sining? Sigurado akong kahit isa man lang sa kanila ay National Artist. Ngayon, ikaw ang sumagot ng sarili mong tanong. Nakatulong ba ang mga nagawa ng National Artist sa'yo? Kung hindi (na hindi naman ako magugulat) itanong mo nalang sa mga kapwa direktor mo (na mas nararapat pa siguro sa award na ito), sino ang mga inidolo nila?

Hay. Nakalulungkot na ganito ang tingin ng ibang tao sa mga National Artist natin. Ngayon tinatawag na rin silang "elitista." Wala po sa yaman o kataasan ng edukasyon ang pagiging karapat-dapat sa parangal na 'to. Nakatutulong ang mga ito ng kaunti, pero hindi ito ang basehan. Alam ito ng artists natin, huwag silang insultuhin. Hindi sila ang isyu dito. Hindi rin si Caparas at Alvarez kundi ang napakagaling na presidente natin at ang kanyang napakahusay na paggamit sa kapangyarihan. (Teka, nasusuka ako sa huling pangungusap na 'yon. Bye.)