Ginaw Bilog, Hanunoo Mangyan

from Mansalay, Mindoro, grew up in

such a cultural environment. As of
now saturated of wisdom that the
ambahan is a key to the
understanding of the Mangyan soul,
Ginaw, took it upon himself to
continually keep scores of ambahan
poetry recorded, not only on bamboo
tubes but on old, dog-eared
notebooks passed on to him by
friends. The nation is justifiably
proud of Ginaw Bilog for vigorously
promoting the elegantly poetic art of
the surat Mangyan and the ambahan.

Ginaw Bilog
Poet
1993

Masino Intaray, an outstanding

master of the basal, kulilal and bagit
is Masino, a gifted poet, bard artist,
and musician who was born near the
head of the river in Makagwa valley
on the foothill of Mantalingayan
mountain. Masino is not only well-
versed in the instruments and
traditions of the basal, kulilal and
bagit but also plays the aroding
(mouth harp) and babarak (ring
flute) and above all is a prolific and
pre-eminent epic chanter and story
teller. Intaray was awarded the
Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan, or
National Living Treasures Award, in
1993.

MASINO INTARAY
Musician and storyteller
1993

Samaon Sulaiman achieved the

highest level of excellence in the art
of kutyapi playing. His extensive
repertoire of dinaladay, linapu,
minuna, binalig, and other forms and
styles interpreted with refinement
and sensitivity fully demonstrate and
creative and expressive possibilities
of his instrument.Aside from kutyapi,
he is also proficient in kulintang,
agong, gandingan, palendag and
tambul. The National Commission for
Culture and the Arts (NCCA)
conferred the title ‘Manlilikha ng
Bayan’ in 1993 for keeping alive
traditional Maguidanao kutyapi
music.

Samaon sulaiman
Musician
1993
Lang Dulay knows a hundred
designs, including the bulinglangit
(clouds), the bankiring (hair bangs),
and the kabangi (butterfly), each one
special for the stories it tells. Using
red and black dyes, she spins her
stories with grace. Her textiles reflect
the wisdom and the visions of her
people. Through her weaving, Lang
Dulay does what she can to keep her
people’s tradition alive.
Upon learning that she was
being considered to be one of the
Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan
awardees, tears of joy fell from her
eyes.

LANG DULAY
TEXTILE WEAVER
1998

Salita Monon, had watched her

mother’s nimble hands glide over the
loom, weaving traditional Bagobo
textiles. At 12 she presented herself
to her mother, to be taught how to
weave herself. She developed a keen
eye for the traditional designs, and
now, at the age of 65, she can identify
the design as well as the author of a
woven piece just by a glance. She was
known for her Bagobo-Tagabawa
textiles and was known as the "last
Bagobo weaver". In 1998, Monon
was awarded the National Living
Treasures Award.

SALINTA MONON
TEXTILE WEAVER
1998

Alonz Saclag, a Kalinga master of

dance and the performing arts, he has
made it his mission to create and
nurture a greater consciousness and
appreciation of Kalinga culture. He
learned how to play traditional
Kalinga musical instruments and
Kalinga ritual dance movements
without formal or informal
instruction. As an effort to revive the
dying tradition of playing the gangsa,
a type of Kalinga gong. Saclag was
conferred the National Living
Treasures Award in 2000. By 2016,
he has established a village within his
town, named Awichon which aims to
promote Kalinga culture to tourists.

Alonzo Saclag
Musician and dancer
2000
 Federico Caballero who is also
called Nong Pedring learned about
epics from his mother and his
grandmother, Anggoy Omil who
would chant these to him and his
siblings as a lullaby. He worked with
the Bureau of Nonformal Education,
to teach people how to read and
write and would promote the
tradition of epic chanting despite the
initial objection of his children. He is
considered bantugan, a person who
has attained distinction. The National
Commission for Culture and the Arts
recognized him as a National Living
Treasure in the year 2000 for
"weaving the fabric of oral tradition".

Federico caballero
Epic chanter
2000

Uwang Ahadas, first learned how to

play the gabbang, a wooden bamboo
instrument similar to the xylophone
then learned how to play the agung
an instrument traditionally played by
Yakan men. By age 20, Ahadas had
already mastered the kwintangan
which is considered as the most
important Yakan musical instrument
despite the instrument traditionally
reserved for women. He can also
play the tuntungan. Ahadas was
recognized as a National Living
Treasure by the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts in the year
2000.

UWANG AHADAS
MUSICIAN
2000

Darhata Sawabi is a weaver

of pis syabit - the traditional cloth
tapestry worn as a head covering by
the Tausug of Jolo. Daharta Sawabi's
art of textile weaving and especially
of the pis syabit has been passed
down generation by generation. Pis
syabit weaving is a difficult art.
Preparing the warp alone already
takes three days. It is a very tiring
and mechanical task. Daharta Sawabi
has based her art by generations
before her, keeping the old at afresh.
The community of weavers
recognizes her expertise in the craft.

DARHATA SAWABI
TEXTILE WEAVER
2004
 Eduardo Mutuc is an artist who has
dedicated his life to creating religious
and secular art in silver, bronze and
wood. His intricately detailed
retablos, mirrors, altars, and carosas
are in churches and private
collections. A number of these works
are quite large, some exceeding forty
feet, while some are very small and
feature very fine and delicate
craftsmanship. In the history of the
Gawad ng Manlilikha ng Bayan
Awards, there has been only one
Kapampangan recipient to date, he
was conferred this prestigious
recognition in 2004.

Eduardo mutuc
METalsmith
2004

Haja Amina Appi of Ungos Matata,

Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi, is recognized
as the master mat weaver among the
Sama indigenous community of Ungos
Matata. Her colorful mats with their
complex geometric patterns exhibit
her precise sense of design,
proportion and symmetry and
sensitivity to color. Her unique multi-
colored mats are protected by a plain
white outer mat that serves as the
mat’s backing. Her functional and
artistic creations take up to three
months to make. She feels pride in
the fact that people often borrow her
mats to learn from her and copy her
designs.

Haja amina appi

Mat weaver
2004

Teofilo Garcia learned how

to make gourd casques and weave
baskets from his grandfather at the
age of 16. Since he learned the craft,
he never stopped experimenting with
other designs. He previously used
nito (vine trimmings) to decorate the
headgear and then used with other
materials such as bamboo after his
supplier from Cagayan passed away.
He was proclaimed in 2012 for
carrying on the dying traditional
craft of making tabungaw, which are
conical helmets from gourd halves.

TEOFILO garcia
CASQUE MAKER
2012
 Magdalena Gamayo has taught
herself the traditional patterns of
binakol, inuritan (geometric design),
kusikos (spiral forms similar to
oranges), and sinan-sabong
(flowers), which is the most
challenging pattern. She has also
taught herself to recreate designs,
which is a useful skill particularly
when she is only able to see the
design but does not have a sample of
how it is done. Magdalena’s
handiworks are finer than most abel
–her blankets have a very high
thread count and her designs are the
most intricate and can sometimes
take up to five colors.

Magdalena gamayo
Textile weaver
2012

Apuh Ambalang, as she is called by

her community of weavers, is highly
esteemed in all of Lamitan. Her skill
is deemed incomparable: she is able
to bring forth all designs and
actualize all textile categories typical
to the Yakan. She can execute the
suwah bekkat (cross-stitch-like
embellishment) and suwah pendan
(embroidery-like embellishment)
techniques of the bunga sama
category. Ambalang, like other Yakan
weavers, uses the back strap tension
loom, which can be small or large
depending on the type of cloth or
design to be woven.

Ambalang ausalin
Textile weaver
2016

Estelita Bantilan, like all mat

weavers, Estelita’s entire body is her
“loom.” The thin strips of the
pandanus romblon (Pandanus
copelandii merr. Bariu) emerge
matrixed through deft fingers
performing a personal rhythm, the
beat seemingly guided by her eyes.
The unwoven strips are held taut at
the other end of her body, as toes
curl and close around, not only these
strips but, as it were, the abstraction
that other people call design. The arc
of her torso determines the dexterity
of feet and toes. Hand/eye
coordination transpires within a
frame of milliseconds.

Estelita bantilan
Mat weaver
2016
Fu Yabing Dulo is one of the two
master designers left of the Blaan
mabal tabih – the art of ikat weaving.
Fu Yabing is the Blaan’s foremost
mabal. She is not only the first among
equals – the other is Fu Gusiye Buan
– she also is the village’s chef and an
accomplished dancer during her
younger days. But it is in the art of
tabih weaving that Fu Yabing stands
out for, among all Blaans anywhere
in the region. In the year 2016, she is
recognized for her commitment to
the safeguarding and promotion of
the Blaan mabal tabih (ikat weaving)
tradition."

Yabing MASALON DULO

IKAT weaver
2016

MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN

AWARDEES FROM AWARDEES FROM
1993-2016 1993-2016