SCREENWRITER ARMANDO "BING" LAO: NATIONAL ARTIST FOR FILM AND BROADCAST a lifetime of stories, a national cinematic legacy

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The late, great Bing Lao (1948 - 2024), the acclaimed screenwriter behind Itanong Mo sa Buwan (1988), Kinatay (2009), and Dukit (2013), has been posthumously conferred the Order of National Artists of the Philippines by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1414 S. 2026.

Lao joins nine other distinguished artists whose lives and work have profoundly shaped the Filipino creative and cultural landscape:

• Nicanor Tiongson (Literature)
• Gregorio Brillantes (Literature)
• Imelda Cajipe-Endaya (Visual Arts)
• Nunelucio Alvarado (Visual Arts)
• Gabriel Formoso (Architecture)
• Rafael “Nonoy” Froilan (Dance)
• Maria Beatriz “Patis” Tesoro (Design)
• Teodoro Hilado (Theater)
• Alfredo S. Buenaventura (Music)

We honor legends, both living and departed, whose enduring contributions have helped shape our artistic heritage and our national creative identity.

Congratulations and deepest appreciation to the new National Artists of the Philippines!