Ex-CCP top official opposed Dolphy’s National Artist award, says Guidote-Alvarez

DOLPHY. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Veteran actor-comedian Rodolfo “Dolphy” Quizon could have been given the National Artist Award in 2009, had it not been for the disapproval of Dr. Nicanor Tiongson, said former National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) executive director Cecile Guidote-Alvarez in a radio interview Thursday afternoon.

“He (Dolphy) passed the first phase of deliberation and we were happy about it but during the second stage, a powerful member of the selection committee who was a former president of the CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) opposed his nomination,” said Guidote-Alvarez, who was initially hesitant to name the person she was referring to.

Pressed for answer by “Dos por Dos” host Anthony Taberna, Guidote-Alvarez dropped the name of Tiongson.

Guidote-Alvarez said Tiongson  “opposed violently, doing a passionate speech on his disapproval naming Dolphy as a National Artist because of his general portrayal of gays in his films.”

She said Tiongson also questioned Dolphy’s body of work.

Tiongson was vice-president and artistic director of the CCP in the late 1980s to mid 1990s. He also served as chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board. He is also a noted critic, author and academician.

Guidote-Alvarez said she was compelled to speak about the matter because of earlier reports saying she grabbed the award from Dolphy.  She was named National Artist for Theater in 2009 in a controversial decision by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.  The case is still pending in the Supreme Court.

Guidote-Alvarez is recognized as founder of the Philippine Educational Theater Association, an issue that Tiongson also opposed in the past, saying it was the late Lino Brocka who founded PETA.