GINAW BILOG 

(+ 2003)
Poet
Hanunuo Mangyan
Panaytayan, Oriental Mindoro
1993

Ginaw Bilog, Hanunoo Mangyan from Mansalay, Mindoro, grew up in such a cultural
environment. Already steeped in the wisdom that the ambahan is a key to the understanding of
the Mangyan soul, Ginaw took it upon himself to continually keep scores of ambahan poetry
recorded, not only on bamboo tubes but on old, dog-eared notebooks passed on to him by
friends.

A common cultural aspect among cultural communities nationwide is the oral tradition
characterized by poetic verses which are either sung or chanted. However, what distinguishes
the rich Mangyan literary tradition from others is the ambahan, a poetic literary form composed
of seven-syllable lines used to convey messages through metaphors and images. The ambahan
is sung and its messages range from courtship, giving advice to the young, asking for a place to
stay, saying goodbye to a dear friend and so on.

Most treasured of his collection are those inherited from his father and grandfather, sources of
inspiration and guidance for his creative endeavors. To this day, Ginaw shares old and new
ambahans with his fellow Mangyans and promotes this poetic form in every occasion

MASINO INTARAY (+ 2013)

Musician and Storyteller
Pala’wan
Brookes Point, Palawan
1993

An outstanding master of the basal, kulilal and bagit is Masino, a gifted poet, bard artist, and
musician who was born near the head of the river in Makagwa valley on the foothill of
Mantalingayan mountain. Masino is not only well-versed in the instruments and traditions of the
basal, kulilal and bagit but also plays the aroding (mouth harp) and babarak (ring flute) and
above all is a prolific and pre-eminent epic chanter and story teller.

He is known for playing multiple indigenous instruments namely the basal (gong), aroding
(mouth harp), and the babarak (ring flute). Intaray is also known for his performance of kulilal or
songs and bagit, a form of vocal music. The Palawan native was married and had four children.
LANG DULAY (+2015) 
Textile Weaver
T’boli
Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
1998

Lang Dulay knows a hundred designs, including the bulinglangit (clouds), the bankiring (hair
bangs), and the kabangi (butterfly), each one special for the stories it tells. Using red and black
dyes, she spins her stories with grace. Her textiles reflect the wisdom and the visions of her
people.

Using abaca fibers as fine as hair, Lang Dulay speaks more eloquently than words can. Images
from the distant past of her people, the Tbolis, are recreated by her nimble hands – the
crocodiles, butterflies, and flowers, along with mountains and streams, of Lake Sebu, South
Cotabato, where she and her ancestors were born – fill the fabric with their longing to be
remembered. Through her weaving, Lang Dulay does what she can to keep her people’s
traditions alive.

SALINTA MONON (+ 2009)
Textile Weaver
Tagabawa Bagobo
Bansalan, Davao del Sur
1998

she was born, Salinta Monon had watched her mother’s nimble hands glide over the loom,
weaving traditional Bagobo textiles. At 12 she presented herself to her mother, to be taught how
to weave herself. Her ardent desire to excel in the art of her ancestors enabled her to learn
quickly. She developed a keen eye for the traditional designs, and now, at the age of 65, she
can identify the design as well as the author of a woven piece just by a glance.

Salinta has built a solid reputation for the quality of her work and the intricacies of her designs.
There is a continuing demand for her fabrics. She has reached the stage where she is able to
set her own price, but she admits to a nagging sense of being underpaid nevertheless,
considering the time she puts into her work. It takes her three to four months to finish a fabric
3.5 m x 42 cm in length, or one abaca tube skirt per month.

ALONZO SACLAG
Musician and Dancer, Kalinga
Lubuagan, Kalinga
2000

Alonzo Saclag found endless fascination in the sights and sounds of day-to-day village life and
ritual. According to his son, Robinson, he received no instruction, formal or otherwise, in the
performing arts. Yet he has mastered not only the Kalinga musical instruments but also the
dance patterns and movements associated with his people’s rituals. His tool was observation,
his teacher, experience. Coupled with these was a keen interest in – a passion, if you would –
the culture that was his inheritance.

He is instrumental in establishing the practice of children wearing traditional Kalinga clothing for
important school events as well as the teaching of Kalinga folk songs in schools. He also
lobbied for the broadcast of traditional Kalinga music along with contemporary music in their
local radio station.

UWANG AHADAS
Musician
Yakan
Lamitan, Basilan
2000

Uwang Ahadas is a Yakan, a people to whom instrumental music is of much significance,

connected as it is with both the agricultural cycle and the social realm. One old agricultural
tradition involves the kwintangan kayu, an instrument consisting of five wooden logs hung
horizontally, from the shortest to the longest, with the shortest being nearest the ground. After
the planting of the rice, an unroofed platform is built high in the branches of a tree. Then the
kwintangan kayu is played to serenade the palay, as a lover woos his beloved. Its resonance is
believed to gently caress the plants, rousing them from their deep sleep, encouraging them to
grow and yield more fruit.

By age 20, Ahadas had already mastered the kwintangan which is considered as the most
important Yakan musical instrument despite the instrument traditionally reserved for women. He
can also play the tuntungan. He broke tradition by reaching excellence in playing the
kwintangan, an instrument typically played by a woman. The instrument, made up of logs
arranged beneath a tree near a rice field, is used to call for abundant grains and rice growth.

DARHATA SAWABI (+ 2005)

Textile Weaver
Tausug
Parang, Sulu
2004

Darhata Sawabi is a Tausug textile weaver from Sulu. She was hailed as an expert in weaving
colorful squares of cloth used for the pis syabit and for adornment of the native attire, bags and
accessories as well as in teaching the art to the younger generation.

Darhata Sawabi is a Filipino weaver from Parang, Sulu known for pis syabit, a traditional
Tausūg cloth tapestry worn as a head covering by the people of Jolo. She is a recipient of the
National Living Treasures Award, having given the distinction in 2004.
EDUARDO MUTUC
Metalsmith
Kapampangan
Apalit Pampanga
2004

Eduardo Mutuc is an artist who has dedicated his life to creating religious and secular art in
silver, bronze, and wood. His intricately detailed retablos, mirrors, altars, and carosas are in
churches and private collections. A number of these works are quite large, some exceeding
forty feet, while some are very small and feature very fine and delicate craftsmanship.

For an artist whose work graces cathedrals and churches, Mutuc works in humble surroundings.
His studio occupies a corner of his yard and shares space with a tailoring shop. During the
recent rains, the river beside his lot overflowed and water flooded his studio in Apalit,
Pampanga, drenching his woodblocks. Mutuc takes it all in stride.

For more than thirty years now, Tatang Eddie has made his mark as the finest metal craftsmen
in the country. His commissioned works include ecclesiastical pieces such as altar tables and
tabernacles, and collectors' items such as candelabras, picture frames and even salakots.

HAJA AMINA APPI (+ 2013)

Mat Weaver
Sama
Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi
2004

Haja Amina Appi of Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi, is recognized as the master mat
weaver among the Sama indigenous community of Ungos Matata. Her colorful mats with their
complex geometric patterns exhibit her precise sense of design, proportion and symmetry and
sensitivity to color. Her unique multi-colored mats are protected by a plain white outer mat that
serves as the mat’s backing. Her functional and artistic creations take up to three months to

Haja Amina Appi of Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi created intricate mats that boast
beautiful geometric designs, vibrant colors, and fine symmetry. She was awarded National
Living Treasure in 2004
FERNANDO AMORSOLO
Painting
1972
Calle Herran in Paco, Manila

Fernando Amorsolo used natural as well as backlighting techniques to paint and sketch over ten
thousand pieces in his career. The dalagang Filipina, landscapes of his native Philippines, portraits,
and WWII battle scenes are among his most well-known works.

Many more of Fernando Amorsolo's drawings and paintings used family members as themes.
Amorsolo continued to paint from his house in Manila when WWII broke out. He painted works that
depicted human sorrow and wartime events, as well as self-portraits and Japanese occupation
troops of the period, rather than landscapes with brilliant sun-filled sky. Following the war, he
returned to painting landscapes and portraits in the countryside. Many of the Philippine presidents,
as well as revolutionary leader General Emilio Aguinaldo and General Douglas MacArthur, were
painted

GUILLERMO E. TOLENTINO
Sculpture
1973
Malolos, Bulacan

Guillermo E. Tolentino was a sculptor from the Philippines and a University of the Philippines
lecturer. In 1973, he was named a National Artist of the Philippines for Sculpture. From the
1920s until the 1970s and beyond, Guillermo E. Tolentino dominated Filipino sculpture, notably
in the fields of portraits and human forms. His sculptures were mostly made of plaster and
metal, and he worked in the classical style.

He had also been awarded the President's Medal of Merit for his excellent contributions to
nation development via the arts, notably sculpture. In 1967, Tolentino was also honored with the
Republic Cultural Heritage Award for his contributions to the preservation, development, and
enrichment of Filipino culture.

ANTONIO J. MOLINA
Music
1973
Quiapo, Manila

Molina created approximately 500 musical works, including "Hatinggabi" and "Awit ni Maria
Clara," and trained some of the country's musical icons, including Lucresia Kasilag and Felipe
de Leon. Molina was renowned as the "dean of Filipino composers." The whole tone scale,
pentatonic scale, exuberance of dominant ninths and eleventh chords, and linear counterpoints
are all developments claimed to Molina.
LEONOR O. GOQUINGCO
Dance
1976
Jolo, Sulu

Orosa Goquingco was first Filipino to choreograph ballet towards the music of well-known
foreign composers, the first to incorporate Filipino traditions, themes, stories, and music into her
dance programs, and the first to stylize and weave Philippine ethnic dances into elaborate,
theatrical dance productions. Leonor Orosa Goquingco, a pioneer Filipino choreographer in
balletic folkloric and Asian forms, has created extremely creative, one-of-a-kind choreographies
for over 50 years, most of which are based on her own tales.

This groundbreaking dance epic, the first to be created and choreographed by a Filipino to
music composed by Filipinos, was the idea of a dancer and choreographer who already had
quickly gained international acclaim. To honor that choreographer, Filipinescas was re-staged in
2004 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

NICK JOAQUIN
Literature
1976
Paco, Manila

Nick Joaquin was well with a historian of Spain's brief Golden Age in the Philippines, as well as
a writer of traditional Roman Catholic short tales, a dramatist, and a novelist. Joaquin's writings
were written in English. The Woman Who Had Two Navels (1961) is a book about his country's
diverse heritages. During the 1950s and 1960s, Joaquin contended, Philippine writings were
separated into two extremes: literary and journalism. As seen by his writings, Joaquin, who went
by the name Quijano de Manila at the time, belonged to both worlds.