Caparas:One, Concerned Artists: ZERO, Part 2

The following was retrieved from the online article of the "Malaya" newspaper dated, September 17, 2009. Its a more detailed account of the Solicitor General's arguments on why the "concerned artists" petition should be "legally" dismissed:

SC cannot overturn president’s power to appoint National Artists: Sol-Gen

GOVERNMENT lawyers yesterday insisted that the conferment of the rank and title of the Order of National Artist on movie director Carlo Caparas and six others is well within the powers of the President and cannot be overturned by the Supreme Court.

In a 51-page comment, the Office of the Solicitor General sought the dismissal of the petition for prohibition filed by several national artists and cultural workers for being moot and academic, with Malacañang’s conferment of the award being already final.

Solicitor general Agnes Devanadera said President Arroyo had already issued Proclamation Nos. 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828, and 1829 declaring as national artists Manuel Urbano (for film and broadcast) Lazaro Francisco (literature), Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (visual arts), Cecilia Guidote-Alvarez (theater), Caparas (visual arts and film), Francisco Mañosa (architecture), Jose "Pitoy" Moreno (fashion design).

Devanadera said the petition filed by several national artists called for a preventive remedy but since the act sought to be enjoined had already taken place, there was nothing more to restrain. "The issues raised in the petition are clearly moot and academic as private respondents have been declared national artists. No amount of melodramatic protests shall overturn this fact," she said.

Devanadera said the award of the order of national artist is the exclusive prerogative of the President. She said that while the joint letter of the boards of National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) recommending four artists for the award is persuasive, the same is not binding on the President.

"(President Arroyo) can affirm, disregard or modify the recommendation submitted by the two boards. Since the law clothes the President with the power to confer the award, such conferment must be understood as necessarily carrying with it ample discretion to decide who to award," she said.

The OSG further said the President did not disregard the selection process of the NCCA-CCP board but instead took it into consideration along with the recommendation of the Committee on Honors. Devanadera said it was the Committee on Honors which submitted the names of Caparas, Mañosa, Alvarez and Moreno for the 2009 Order of National Artists.

The Committee on Honors was created on Sept. 19, 2003 under Executive Order No. 236 to assist the President in evaluating nominations for recipient honors and presidential awards. It is composed of the Executive Secretary, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, head of the Presidential Management Staff, Presidential Assistant for Historical Affairs, Chief Presidential Protocol and State Visits – Department of Foreign Affairs.

Devanadera said the vetting process of the Committee on Honors "does not override but runs parallel" with the NCCA-CCP Board’s selection process. She said the Committee on Honors consulted experts and considered the nominations made by various organizations and persons from different sectors. – Evangeline C. de Vera