UP Visayas hosts GAMABA nomination call in Iloilo

ILOILO CITY — The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) hosted the Visayas leg of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) call for nominations press conference on Oct. 6 at the Pagwa Performing Arts Hall of the UPV Main Building in Iloilo City.

GAMABA, also known as the National Living Treasures Award, is the country’s highest recognition for traditional artists.

Established under Republic Act No. 7355 in 1992, the award honors individuals or groups who preserve and transmit traditional Filipino arts and cultural practices.

The press conference provided information on the nomination process and encouraged qualified organizations to identify traditional artists whose work contributes to the preservation and transmission of Philippine cultural heritage.

Federico Caballero, an epic chanter and traditional arbiter from Calinog, Iloilo, received the GAMABA award in 2000.

With this year’s call for nominations, the NCCA hopes another traditional artist from the Visayas will gain national recognition.

The NCCA and UP Visayas invited members of the local media and representatives from higher education institutions, local government units and national government agencies, among others, to the press conference.

The NCCA held the first leg of the nomination campaign at UP Baguio on Oct. 1 and was scheduled to hold the third in Davao on Oct. 9.

This is the eighth call for GAMABA nominations since the award’s establishment in 1992 and the first since 2023.

NCCA Commissioner Reden Ulo and Renee Talavera of the NCCA Program Management Division led the delegation that launched the Visayas call for nominations.

They were joined by GAMABA Executive Council members Prof. Joycie Alegre, Maria Lourdes Ingel and Felipe De Leon Jr., who discussed the selection process.

GAMABA awardees Barbara Ofong, Rosie Sula and Bundos Fara were also present during the press conference.

In his welcome message, UPV Chancellor Clement Camposano said the initiative is “not only to protect and promote our […] plural heritage, but also […] a way to ensure that there is space for the authentic voices to come out.”

“[…] Not voices of the academics, but the voices of our communities and to the extent that our academics will speak it […] in partnership with our knowledge bearers,” he added.

Prof. Martin Genodepa, director of the Office of Initiatives in Culture and the Arts, said the call for nominations provides an opportunity to look closely at traditional artists within communities.

He cited Iloilo’s rich local culture and its designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy as part of the broader cultural setting for identifying and recognizing tradition bearers. (Written by Carlson Alelis, UPV IPO/ NCCA)