Did you know: National Artist Award

The National Artist Award, the highest national recognition given to Filipinos who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts, was created through Presidential Proclamation No. 1001, which was signed in Manila on April 27, 1972. Administered by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Cultural Center of the Philippines, it is conferred by the Philippine president. Painter Fernando Amorsolo was the first to be declared a National Artist.—Schatzi Quodala, Inquirer Research