Long wait over for family of national artist

CABANATUAN CITY—In August 2009, the family of the late Tagalog novelist Lazaro Francisco, newly proclaimed national artist for literature, was all set to attend the conferment rites at Malacañang.

But they did not make the trip. Conferment was suspended when the Supreme Court was asked to determine if three of the six national artists named that year by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were eligible to receive the honor.

The high court resolved the issue last week and Francisco was finally conferred the title of national artist, the highest national recognition given to a Filipino who has made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts.

“Wow! It was a long, long wait,” said Floriño Francisco, one of the sons of the novelist. “But our family felt incredible joy. It was worth the wait and we are very proud of Tatay.”

Floriño was supposed to receive the award for his father in 2009. A recent heart operation kept him from going to the awards ceremonies on Thursday so his younger brother Rafael, a lawyer, attended the conferment at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“Although Tatay was not originally from here, he always told us that he was a true-blooded son of Nueva Ecija and Cabanatuan City,” said Floriño.

Francisco was born on Feb. 22, 1898, in Orani, Bataan. His family moved to this city, then still a town, when he was 16 years old. He died on June 17, 1980.

Floriño said his father was recognized for the causes he championed in his novels, as well as for being a “visionary and social critic,” as his peers described the novelist.

Francisco wrote 12 novels from 1929 to 1962, five of which enthroned him as the foremost novelist in Tagalog literature. His novels exposed the ills of the tenancy system, the excesses and exploitation of foreign capitalists and the oppression of peasants. He also advocated agrarian reform.

Francisco served in the provincial government of Nueva Ecija, first as a clerk in the provincial treasurer’s office and later as provincial assessor. He won the last Commonwealth national essay contest.

In later years, he was bestowed the Republic Cultural Heritage Award by the national government, the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan award by the city government of Manila, the Dangal ng Lahi Award by the Quezon City government, the Tanglaw ng Lahi Award by Ateneo de Manila University and the Gawad Panitik by the National Press Club.

Floriño said his father’s novel, “Ama,” translated into French by novelist-crusader Jean Paul Potet, was internationally circulated through www.lulu.com.

A public elementary school here has been named after Francisco. The family’s ancestral home has been converted into the Museo Lazaro Francisco.