The University of the Philippines proudly congratulates the UP alumni, faculty, and long-time friends of the UP community who are among the country’s 10 new National Artists by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1414, honored for their outstanding contributions to Philippine arts and letters.
National Artist for Literature Nicanor Tiongson
From writing “Manong,” a book released in 2025 on the life and works of National Artist for Film, Gerardo de Leon, to becoming a National Artist for Literature himself, Professor Emeritus Nicanor Tiongson’s journey shows that the recognition was not simply a matter of time and achievement: its inception can be traced to decades of dedication to Philippine film, theater, and literature.
Tiongson earned his BA in Humanities degree from Ateneo de Manila University in 1965. He then pursued graduate studies at UP Diliman as he completed his master’s degree in Philippine Studies in 1974 and his doctoral degree in the same field in 1979.
Prior to his appointment as Professor Emeritus of Film and Audio-Visual Communication in 2012, Tiongson taught Filipino and Philippine literature at the then-College of Arts and Sciences from 1974 to 1986. In 1998, he began teaching film and media courses at the then-College of Mass Communication, now the College of Media and Communication.
In 2001, Tiongson was awarded the UPD Gawad Tsanselor para sa Pinakamahusay na Guro of the Arts and Letters Cluster. In 2024, he received the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ Lifetime Achievement Award.
From 2003 to 2006, Tiongson served as CMC dean. He also served as artistic director and vice president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Among his film books are “The Cinema of Manuel Conde” and the four-volume “The Urian Anthology,” which compiles the film articles, reviews, and interviews of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino from 1970 to 2009.
National Artist for Visual Arts Imelda Cajipe-Endaya
National Artist for Visual Arts Imelda Cajipe-Endaya — the first Filipina to receive such distinction — ranks among the country’s leading feminist and social realist artists. Using indigenous and domestic materials, her paintings, installations, and collages depict the lived experiences of Filipino women and the masses.
In 1987, Cajipe-Endaya co-founded the women artists’ collective, Kababaihan sa Sining at Bagong Sibol na Kamalayan or Kasibulan. She was also the founding director of Pananaw: Philippine Journal of Visual Arts, a journal on Philippine contemporary art launched in 1996.
Her leadership also extended to national institutions, as she held significant posts at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ Executive Committee on Visual Arts, serving as its secretary from 1995 to 1998, then vice head until 2001.
Throughout her five-decade career, Cajipe-Endaya earned national and international recognition. In 1999, the Cultural Center of the Philippines granted her the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts. She was also the recipient of the following: Irwin and Florence Zlowe Memorial Art Award by the American Society of Contemporary Artists in 2008; NCCA’s Ani ng Dangal in 2009; and the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 2012.
Cajipe-Endaya earned her BFA in Visual Communication from the College of Fine Arts, UP Diliman in 1970, where she later taught as an instructor from 1974 to 1975. In 2019, she received the Gawad Alab ng Sining, recognizing her as one of the college’s most outstanding alumni.
National Artist for Dance Rafael “Nonoy” Froilan
National Artist for Dance Rafael “Nonoy” Froilan is a choreographer widely recognized as one of the country’s premier danseurs for over two decades.
Froilan entered the Cultural Center of the Philippines Dance School in 1972 and joined Ballet Philippines in 1973, rising to become its principal male dancer — performing more than a hundred leading roles in several classical, modern and contemporary productions. He also choreographed original works such as “Danzas” in 1986, “One Afternoon” in 1987, “Iba’t Ibang Salita” in 1988, and “Amparo” in 1990.
Beyond the stage, Froilan dedicated his life to teaching, mentoring, coaching, and supporting younger generations of classical ballet dancers especially after his retirement.
He finished his BS in Education degree from the UP Diliman College of Education in 1977 and served as a faculty member of the Philippine High School for the Arts. He also continues to hold master classes for various ballet schools and companies, as well as dance workshops all over the country.
Froilan is also an advocate of preserving the country’s diverse dance heritage and traditions through his video company, which is dedicated to documenting, recording, archiving regional performances.
His 1994 documentary “Encantada: The Creation of a Dance” — which captures the creative journey of the landmark dance masterpiece choreographed by future National Artist for Dance Agnes Locsin — won first prize in the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Alternative Film and Video Competition.
Also among the recognition Froilan has received include the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining and the Metro Manila Commission on Culture Award.
National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Armando “Bing” Lao †
Armando “Bing” Lao, recognized posthumously as National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts, was a screenwriter, director, creative consultant, and mentor who taught at the UP Film Institute as lecturer from 2019 to 2022, Mowelfund Film Institute, and the Asia Pacific Film Institute.
Lao is credited with creating and developing the influential “Found Story” approach in scriptwriting, which emphasizes fieldwork, observation, and immersion that injects depth, sociopolitical context, and complex characterization into narratives. By challenging conventional storytelling, his framework had a significant impact on Philippine cinema.
He penned numerous acclaimed screenplays, winning the Gawad Urian for Best Screenplay for “Takaw Tukso” (1986), “Itanong Mo sa Buwan” (1988), “Pila Balde” (1999), “Tuhog” (2001), and “La Vida Rosa” (2001). His works as a director and creative consultant earned him prestigious national and international recognition across major film festivals.
Through his exemplary contributions and mentorship, Lao influenced younger generations of screenwriters, artists, and filmmakers to create and innovate stories that resonate with audiences of independent and contemporary Philippine cinema.
National Artist for Literature Gregorio Brillantes †
National Artist for Literature Gregorio Brillantes was one of the most brilliant and prolific Filipino fictionists in English, with short stories that examined questions of faith and spirituality, humanity’s place in the universe, and the future of the nation amid the social and political realities of the present.
He started working at the “Philippine Free Press,” as staff writer in 1961 before eventually becoming one of its esteemed editors. His first short story collection “The Distance to Andromeda,” published in 1960 with an introduction from future National Artist for Literature Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez, established Brillantes as an important voice in Philippine literature before he even reached 30.
Short stories from his two other collections — “The Apollo Centennial” published in 1980, and “On a Clear Day in November, Shortly Before the Millennium” published in 2000 — blended elements of dystopian science fiction with fantastic and supernatural themes, with critics and contemporaries alike deeming him the “godfather of Philippine speculative fiction.”
For his mastery of the craft, he served as a National Fellow for Fiction at the Likhaan: UP Institute of Creative Writing, formerly the UP Creative Writing Center.
Brillantes has received many of the country’s highest accolades in literature, among them the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Gawad CCP Para sa Sining, the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas of the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas, and his induction into the hall of fame of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.
He passed away Sept. 26, 2025, leaving behind a distinctly Filipino body of work and a towering legacy in Philippine literature as a truly brilliant fictionist, essayist, and editor. He is survived by his wife, Premio Zóbel awardee and retired Associate Professor Lourdes Castrillo-Brillantes of the College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman, and their three children: Professor Patricia Brillantes Silvestre, dean of the College of Music, UPD; Cecilia Brillantes-Conlu; and Alicia Brillantes-Flores.