Update: F. Sionil Jose, Arturo Luz, Bienvenido Lumbera, Virgilio Almario, Bancab will lead artists and community in a Necrological Service and Funeral march for the National Artists Awards on Friday, Aug. 7, 2 pm at CCP.
Last Wednesday, Malacañang released the names of the latest batch of National Artists, the most prestigious award for Filipino artists. They are:
Cecile Guidote-Alvarez (Theater)
Manuel Urbano aka Manuel Conde (Film and Broadcast Arts)
Magno Jose “Carlo” Caparas (Visual Arts and Film)
Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (Visual Arts, Painting)
Lazaro Francisco (Literature)
Francisco Mañosa (Architecture)
Jose “Pitoy” Moreno (Fashion)
The Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) issued the following statement:
Moribund, decadent politics behind this year’s selection of National Artists
The Concerned Artists of the Philippines joins much of the Filipino arts and cultural community in expressing indignation over the unprecedented brazen use by the Arroyo regime of the National Artists awards for its moribund, decadent politics.