SC stops conferment of National Artists
SC stops Nat'l Artist awards
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/25/2009 4:20 PM
MANILA - The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued a resolution stopping Malacañang from conferring the Order of National Artists to seven individuals pending a petition filed before it.
The high court issued a status quo order while it resolves a petition seeking to disqualify four of the seven National Artists, including movie director Carlo J. Caparas, selected by President Arroyo.
"The court saw the urgency to issue the status quo order and stop the conferment of the awards. It has the same affect as a temporary restraining order," SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said in a press conference.
Aside from the status quo order, the SC also directed the respondents to comment on the petition filed by several National Artists and cultural workers on August 19.
Marquez said SC en banc came up with the resolution during its regular session Tuesday.
Named respondents in the case were Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the National Commission on Cultural and the Arts (NCAA), Cecile Guidote-Alvarez (theater), Caparas (film and visual arts), Francisco Mañosa (architecture), and Jose “Pitoy” Moreno (fashion design).
After the submission of the comments of the respondents, Marquez said the high court would then decide whether or not to set the case for oral arguments.
‘Grave abuse of discretion’
On August 19, a group of National Artists and their supporters asked the high court to stop Malacañang from awarding this year’s Order of National Artists to four individuals.
The group, led by National Artists for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera and Virgilio Almario, filed a 38-page petition for prohibition, certiorari and injunction with prayer for restraining order to prevent the Palace from conferring the title to Guidote-Alvarez, Caparas, Mañosa, and Moreno.
The petitioners said President Arroyo committed "grave abuse of discretion” when it added the names of Guidote-Alvarez, Caparas, Mañosa, and Moreno to the final list submitted by CCP and the NCCA.
They also lamented the “unexplained deletion” of composer Dr. Ramon Santos from the final shortlist.
The final shortlist submitted by the CCP and the NCCA included Santos, Manuel Conde Jr. (posthumous award for film and broadcast media), Lazaro Francisco (posthumous award for literature), and Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (visual arts, paintings, sculpture and mixed media).
When Ermita publicly disclosed the Order of the National Artists late July, the roster included Caparas, Moreno, Mañosa and Alvarez.
The petitioners decried that none of the four had been chosen by their peers or recommended by the CCP and NCCA. They noted, in particular, that Guidote-Alvarez is not eligible to become National Artist since she is NCCA executive director and the President’s adviser on culture of arts.
Guidote-Alvarez has denied taking part in this year's screening for the Order of National Artists.
They scored the President for her alleged disregard of “the rigorous process for screening and selection of National Artists.”
They also argued that the President's prerogative to add to the Order of National Artists roster is not absolute or unlimited.
The petitioners asked the high court to set the case for oral arguments.
SC stops conferment of National Artists
By Tetch Torres, Norman Bordadora
INQUIRER.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:59:00 08/25/2009
Filed Under: Judiciary (system of justice), Government, Awards and Prizes, Arts (general)
MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) The Supreme Court has issued a status quo order preventing Malacañang from conferring the rank and title of national artist on those named by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as this year’s recipients of the state honor, a court spokesman told a press conference Tuesday.
The order was issued following the tribunal’s en banc session on Tuesday morning, said lawyer Midas Marquez.
Among this year’s national artists as proclaimed by Malacañang were National Commission on Culture and Arts executive director Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, cartoonist-filmmaker Carlo J. Caparas, architect Francisco Mañosa, fashion designer Jose Moreno, filmmaker Manuel Conde, Lazaro Francisco for literature and visual artist Federico Alcuaz.
National artists, including Virgilio Almario and Benedicto Cabrera, asked for a temporary restraining order on the awarding as they questioned the process through which Guidote-Alvarez, Caparas, Moreno and Mañosa were included in the list.
Co-petitioners were lawyers, deans, and professors, and artists and members of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines.
In line with the order, the high court also said that the Executive Department could not release the cash awards that went with the conferment.
In its resolution, the high court told the Executive Department to maintain status quo and ordered respondents to comment within 10 days on the petition.
Respondents include Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., Cultural Center of the Philippines, National Commission on Culture and the Arts, Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, Carlos Caparas, Jose Moreno, Francisco Manosa.
In its petition filed last week, the National Artists claimed that the President abused her discretion when she disregarded the screening process in including her own choices.
They asked the high court to declare as grave abuse of discretion on the part of President Arroyo the inclusion of Alvarez, Manosa, Moreno, and Caparas in the list of National Artists, as well as the deletion of the name of Dr. Ricardo Santos.
Last July 29, aside from the four, Malacañang announced Lazaro Francisco (posthumous award for literature);Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (visual arts, paintings, sculpture and mixed media); and Manuel Conde, as its choices for National Artists.
Of the seven, only Francisco, Conde, and Alcuaz were original choices by the NCCA and the CCP Board, which took two years to screen the nominees.
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sana namay ay may
sana namay ay may magandang kalabasan ang kaso. kasi hindi naman automatic na hindi na sa kanila ico-confer ang award, parang temporary restraining order lang.
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