The Politics of Awards

Awards are born with controversies.

In 2006, months before (and during) our graduation, protests were launched by PNUans (particularly those from the Torch publications) because the Graciano Lopez-Jaena Award for Journalism was not given to Mark Bercando (the Editor-in-Chief back then). The students believed that Bercando deserved the award, but for some “political” reasons, the administration of PNU was able to see technicalities which turned the table against the leader of the student publication.

In 2005, Mohamed El-Baradei, the Egyptian Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, received the Nobel Peace Prize in conjunction with protests and uprisings around the world because of his alleged leniency towards Iranian nuclear development program.

Recently, Cecille Guidote-Alvarez and Carlo J. Caparas are facing questions and protests after receiving the National Artist Award for this year. Protesters argue that Caparas does not deserve the award and that Guidote-Alvarez is disqualified for the award because she happens to be the executive director of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

I have nothing against Caparas and Guidote, and I don’t like F. Sionil Jose that much as well. But I must say that there are questions the Malacañang is compelled to answer. What are the standards for being conferred with the highest award for the arts? When can we consider that an art form has reached the level of being “nationally acclaimed”? When the masses embraced it? Or when its underlying philosophies and presentations embodied the heart and soul of the country?

To some extent, these two artists may be deserving, but probably, the time isn’t ripe yet for them. The more they brag about it, the more disrespect would they gain from people. (This has been the reason for GMA’s unpopularity—scandals and issues came after the other.)

I pity Caparas and Guidote-Alvarez for clinging to their awards as much as their boss clings to her illegally-acquired seat in Malacañang.

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Awards are given to honor people who have done something exemplary, something noble, something . Honorable and deserving people don’t beg for awards because in the first place, the conferring of awards are all for show. At the end of the day, it will be the people who will truly judge the person that should be given with utmost respect—we have witnessed this when Ninoy and Tita Cory died.