No reason for Vilma to resent Nora’s National Artist statusIn the last several years, those who comprise the National Arts committee no longer required Nora Aunor to go through the various levels of selection– because, for heaven’s sake, she’s been through that many times over already. Her name was just “parked” there – hoping Malacañang would finally give its approval. She got lucky this time. Nora Aunor is now a National Artist for Film. It was her children (right photo, L-R) Matet de Leon, Ian de Leon, Kiko de Leon, and Kenneth de Leon, who accepted her National Artist plaque from President Rodrigo Duterte last June 17 in Malacañang.

It’s about time!

At long last, Nora Aunor had been named National Artist – or Pambansang Alagad ng Sining.

From the time the National Artists committee was reorganized in 2008, Nora Aunor had already been gunning for this most prestigious award. But she got it – finally, finally, finally!

To become a National Artist, one has to go through different levels. There is Level 1 wherein the winnowing takes place. The names of those who don’t stand a chance are taken out.

Those who successfully hurdle Level 1 proceed to Level 2. This is a more difficult round of competition. Experts from various fields are called in to cite the merits of the contenders.

The next round is Level 3 composed of commissioners from the National Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and officers and members of the board of trustees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Past National Artists are also invited to join the panel and help select the names of the final list that would be submitted to Malacañang.

It is the President of the Republic of the Philippines who has the last say.

For the longest time, it was believed that the reason Nora kept failing to get the award was due to her drug case in Los Angeles, California in 2005 – even if it was eventually dismissed. That could have been true in the final round – in Malacañang.

It was widely believed that the late President Benigno Aquino III didn’t want to give her the award because of her drug case. When Rodrigo Duterte became President, everyone said that her chance of being named National Artist became even slimmer because of Digong’s war against drugs.

But no one was able to confirm if those were the actual circumstances why she kept getting rejected by Malacañang. At least, President Duterte gave his approval to make Nora a National Artist in the final stretch of his presidency.

In those early years when Nora’s name was being submitted to the National Artists committee, she kept getting turned down by the jurors for her supposed “lack of professionalism.”

The talent, of course, was there – no doubt about it. But the judges were reluctant to give her the award because “she didn’t set a good example to the other actors.”

When I was asked to sit as judge in Level 2 in 2013, Nora’s name was again considered. The issue of her supposed lack of professionalism was no longer raised. Not even the drug case.

There were 21 of us in the panel. During the final voting, she got a unanimous vote. When her name was elevated to Level 3, she passed that round effortlessly. But her fate changed when it was time for Malacañang’s approval. She didn’t get the award.

In the last several years, those who comprise the National Arts committee no longer required her to go through the various levels – because, for heaven’s sake, she’s been through that many times over already. Her name was just “parked” there – hoping Malacañang would finally give its approval.

She got lucky this time. Nora Aunor is now a National Artist for Film.

After Nora got elevated to the National Artist status, the next question, of course, is this: What about Vilma Santos?

Vilma’s name was actually submitted to the National Artists committee much, much later. But like Nora, the issue of lack of professionalism also worked against her.

Vilma had a difficult time getting to Level 2. And when she finally did, there were some judges who would shoot her name down.

It is in this level where you see how the lives and careers of Nora and Vilma are intertwined with each other. Since Nora’s status as a National Artist was still in limbo, Vilma had to wait.

Although Vilma started earlier than Nora in show business (as a child star), it was Nora who became a superstar first. Vilma was packaged into a star so that Nora could have a rival. That’s how it is in show business. One has to have competition in order to stay on top.

Vilma therefore was practically plucked from one of the ribs of Nora Aunor. It was very much like how Eve was molded into a woman after God took her out of one of Adam’s ribs in the biblical story.

And then, Nora will always be credited for how she changed the traditional look of the Filipino movie queen. Before she became big in the movies, the superstars were all mestizas.

Nora’s contribution was so huge, the morenas and the kayumanggi ruled in the early 1970s. Brown became beautiful.

Even dark-skinned beauty contest aspirants were getting crowned Miss Philippines. The perfect example was Evangeline Reyes who was sent to London in 1972 to compete in the Miss World contest. She did fairly well, especially since she ended up as a semi-finalist, along with the United States’ Lynda Carter, who later rose to fame as Wonder Woman.

Nora’s contribution to cinema is difficult to duplicate. She paved the way for Pinay-looking actresses to dominate the screen and that made for more realistic films.

Vilma, however, has her own achievements that are difficult to surpass. There’s the great acting talent, for one, that belongs to her and her alone. And she also has that luminous presence that allows her to light up the screen. She was truly to the movies born.

She is also a risk-taker. The indie film Extra was a huge gamble for her because she was stripped off all the glamorous trappings she had been accustomed to in her so-called commercial films.

The biggest risk of her career surely was Sister Stella L. One had to be extra courageous to take part in a film that criticized the government – particularly at a time when it was dangerous to do so given the political climes then.

Sister Stella L. will always be her most significant film. Of course, she has detractors who will insist that the movie became a critical success all because of the genius of its director, Mike de Leon.

But can you imagine Mike de Leon in a nun’s habit as Sister Stella L.? The film’s title could have been: “Dona Sisang goes to the nunnery.” Dona Sisang, of course, is the esteemed LVN Pictures matriarch Narcisa de Leon, Mike’s grandmother, who very much looked like him.

Perhaps another reason why Vilma couldn’t move past Level 2 may have to do with the fact that she is a commercially successful artist. In my observation as judge in the National Artists panel, there are some in the evaluating panel who prefer to push for the starving artist.

Vilma also went through her starvation years, but was able to bounce back from that spectacularly. In fact, in the mid-1980s, when Nora was getting paid P100,000 per film, Vilma’s talent fee was half a million pesos.

This was the period that marked the reversal of fortunes for the two actresses. Early in their competition, Nora’s movies were all blockbuster hits. Vilma was a poor second to her.

But the time came when the situation evened out for both of them. Vilma managed to catch up. More importantly, however, they became two of the greatest actresses in Philippine cinema – with both of them deserving to be declared National Artist.

The truth is, Vilma almost became a National Artist ahead of Nora. This was in 2018. Unfortunately for Vilma, Kidlat Tahimik, acknowledged father of indie movies, was also in the race. Traditionally, there could only be one winner per discipline and it was Kidlat Tahimik who was chosen National Artist for film.

Had Kidlat Tahimik not been there, Vilma could have been the choice of the panel as winner for cinema. It could have been easy sailing for her since she didn’t have issues with Malacañang – unlike in the case of Nora.

And so, when the time comes for her to get the award – and it will surely come – she won’t have to go through the pains and agonies suffered by Nora on her way to getting declared National Artist.