Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan

• The National Living Treasures Award is also known as Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan.
• The award is conferred on Filipinos at the forefront of preserving, practicing, and promoting the nation's traditional folk arts.
• The objectives of the award are to honor and support traditional folk artists and to ensure their skills and crafts are preserved.
• The award was formalized in 1992 through Republic Act No. 7355, the Manlilikha ng Bayan Act.
• The National Commission for Culture and the Arts oversees the implementation of the award.
• The award ensures the transfer of skills to new generations and promotes crafts locally and internationally.
• In 2014, the Senate of the Philippines adopted Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 765 to recognize the accomplishments of the country's living treasures.
• The award logo represents the human form used in traditional cloth.
• Below the logo is the phrase "Manlilikha ng Bayan" written in Baybayin, an ancient Filipino script used in the Philippines in the 16th century.
• One criteria is that the awardee should be a Filipino citizen or a group of citizens belonging to an indigenous/traditional cultural community anywhere in the Philippines.
• Awardees must be engaged in Filipino traditional art in categories such as folk architecture, maritime transport, weaving, carving, performing arts, literature, graphic and plastic arts, ornament, textile or fiber art, pottery, and other artistic expressions of traditional culture.
• The awardee should have been engaged in the tradition and craft for a significant period of time with at least 50 years of existence and documentation.
• The awardee should have produced and performed artistic, distinctive, and superior quality work.
• One criteria is that the awardee should possess mastery of the tools and materials needed for the art.
• Awardees should have a reputation for being an art master and craft maker in their community.
• One criteria is that the recipient should have passed on or will pass on traditional crafts and skills to other members of the community through teaching.
• If a Manlilikha ng Bayan candidate is incapable of teaching further due to age or infirmity, they should have created a significant body of work and contributed to the development of the tradition and craft.
• They should have played a role in the preservation and revitalization of the artistic tradition in the community.
• They should have been recognized as a master of their craft and admired for their character and integrity in their community.

Notable Awardees

• Ginaw Bilog was a poet from Hanunuo Mangyan, Panaytayan, Oriental Mindoro (awarded in 1993).
• Ginaw Bilog was known for the Ambahan, a poem consisting of seven-syllable lines containing messages of love and friendship.
• Masino Intaray was a musician and storyteller from Pala'wan, Brookes Point, Palawan (awarded in 1993).
• Masino Intaray's expertise included the Basal, Kulilal, and Bagit musical forms.
• Basal is a musical ensemble played during the "tambilaw," a ritual of rice sharing among the Palawan people, and during "tinapay," a rice wine drinking event.
• Samaon Sulaiman was a musician from Mamasa Pano, Magundanao (awarded in 1993).
• Samaon Sulaiman was a master in playing the kutyapi, a 2-stringed plucked lute, one of the most difficult indigenous Filipino instruments to master.
• Lang Dulay was a T'boli textile weaver from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.
• Lang Dulay was famous for Tnalak which is a kind of fabric made of fine abaca fibers woven with designs reflecting Tboli traditions.
• Salinta Monon was a Tagabawa Bagobo textile weaver from Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
• Salinta Monon started weaving at the age of 12, under the guidance of her mother.
• She used to wear the traditional handwoven tube skirt of the Bagobo, called sinukla and bandura.
• Alonzo Saclag was a musician and dancer from Lubugan, Kalinga.
• Alonzo Saclag was a master of dance and performing arts.
• He mastered dance patterns and movements associated with his people's rituals.
• Alonzo Saclag founded the Kalinga Budong Dance Troupe to ensure that the music and dance of his ancestors are passed to younger generations.
• Federico Caballero is an epic chanter from Sulod-Bukidnon, Calinog, Iloilo.
• Federico Caballero worked for the documentation of oral literature, particularly the epics of his people.
• Federico Caballero's notable work include Labaw Dunggon and Humadapnon.
• The Humadapnon epic he created would take as much as 162 hours to recite.
• Uwang Ahadas is a musician from Yakan Lamitan, Basilan.
• Uwang Ahadas is a Yakan, a people whose instrumental music is closely connected to the spiritual realm.
• Uwang Ahadas plays the kwintangan kayu, consisting of five wooden logs hung horizontally, from the shortest to the longest.
• Kwintangan kayu is played to serenade the palay, as a lover woos his beloved.
• Darhata Sawabi is a Tausug textile weaver from Parang, Sulu.
• Darhata Sawabi is known for weaving the Pis Syabit, a traditional cloth tapestry worn as a head covering by the Tausug of Jolo.
• Eduardo Mutuc is a metal smith from Kapampangan, Apalit, Pampanga.
• Eduardo Mutuc creates religious and secular art in silver, bronze, and wood.
• Haja Amina Appi is a mat weaver from Sama Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi.
• Haja Amina Appi continues the mat weaving tradition, treasured by the Sama people.
• Mats are made of Pandan leaves that undergo stripping, sun dying, and dyeing before weaving.
• Teofilo Garcia is a casque maker from Ilokano, San Quintin, Abra.
• Teofilo Garcia makes the Tabungaw, the gourd hat he makes and wears.
• Magdalena Gamayo is a textile weaver from Ilokano, Pinili, Ilocos Norte.
• Magdalena Gamayo weaves Abel, the textile weaving of Ilokano from local cotton and other fibers.
• Traditional Abel patterns include Binakol and Inuritan (geometric design), Kusikos (spiral forms similar to orange), and Sinan-sabong (flowers).