THE NATIONAL Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is now seeking nominees in Mindanao for the upcoming Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) to recognize exceptional indigenous and traditional folk artists which will run until Dec. 31, 2026.
NCCA held its final leg for its regional press conference series in Davao City where qualified organizations and institutions are encouraged to nominate traditional artists who demonstrate mastery, practice, and dedication to producing works of superior quality over a significant period.
Oscar Casaysay, head of the Davao City Office for Culture and the Arts, Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre, NCCA Commissioner Reden Ulo, deputy mayors of Davao City’s 11 ethnolinguistic tribes, and previous awardees of GAMABA, attended the press conference.
Casaysay said they invited local government units and civil society groups to identify and nominate unseen guardians of the Philippines’ living traditions.
The GAMABA (also known as the National Living Treasures Award) is the highest national recognition conferred upon artists in the country, and is institutionalized through Republic Act No. 7335 in 1992.
The annual event is administered by NCCA through the GAMABA Executive Council, and honors an individual or group engaged in any unique Filipino traditional or indigenous art for at least 50 years whose skills have reached the highest level of technical and artistic excellence.
It also adopts programs to ensure that their indigenous skills and cultural traditions are passed on to the next generation.
Categories for GAMABA will include oral traditions and expressions, performoring arts, social practices, rituals, and festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, and finally traditional craftsmanship.
Nominees will also undergo a screening process and meet the qualifications based on the criteria such as distinctive skills or command respect and inspire admiration of the country with his/her character and integrity.
