By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – Despite the endorsements of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), multi-awarded and critically acclaimed actress Nora Aunor is not among this year’s distinguished set of national artists.
Aunor, according to sources, was dropped due to concerns on her involvement in illegal drugs years ago.
The Philippine cinema’s superstar was arrested for shabu possession in 2005 in the United States. She evaded imprisonment by undergoing a six-month drug rehabilitation program.
Aunor is an acting heavyweight whose performances in critically acclaimed films such as Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos (1976), Himala (1982), Bona (1980), The Flor Contemplacion Story (1995) and Thy Womb (2012) which gave her international and local awards and nominations.
The Order of National Artist is the highest national recognition given to Filipinos with distinct contributions in the fields of Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film and Broadcast Arts, and Architecture or Allied Arts.
A national artist is granted the honors and privileges such as the insignia of a national artist and a citation, and a lifetime emolument and benefits similar to those received by the highest officers in the country.
Among the incentives are P100,000 cash award for living awardees, cash award of P75,000 for posthumous awardees, a monthly life pension medical and hospitalization benefits, life insurance, a state funeral at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, and a place of honor at national state functions.
The Order of National Artist has been conferred to Alice Reyes for dance, Cirilio Bautista for literature, Francisco Feliciano and Ramon Santos for music. The award has also been posthumously bestowed to Francisco Coching for visual arts and Jose Maria Zaragoza for architecture or allied arts./PN
