6 decades of Vilma Santos results in National Artist nomination

“STAR for All Seasons” Vilma Santos-Recto was recently nominated to the prestigious Order of National Artists for Film and Broadcast by Aktor PH, a group of Filipino actors led by Dingdong Dantes with endorsements from several other groups including film producers and educators.

Vilma Santos-Recto is a veteran actress and former politician whose career in the entertainment industry has lasted for 60 years. She began acting at 10 years old as the lead in “Trudis Liit” where she earned her first award as “Best Child Actress” at the 1963 FAMAS. 

At merely 13 years old, she already had 16 pictures to her name despite only being in the industry for three years. According to an article by the Weekly Nation in 1965, Vilma garnered a lot of fans due to her warm personality and talent when it came to “stealing the spotlight from her senior colleagues.”

The Star for All Seasons’s filmography continuously gained more titles to its list as she grew up, collecting awards along the way. She has received several Best Actress Awards from multiple local and foreign events, attributing her as one of the Philippines’ most awarded actresses and giving her her current title. She currently has 108 known credits according to The Movie Database.

According to Aktor PH chairman, Dingdong Dantes, that the veteran star’s range is “unparalleled” and her ability to portray truth and authenticity on the big screen is what captivates audiences to the point that her work has empowered and brought justice to the strength and resilience of Filipino women.

Vilma’s roles in Dekada ‘70 (2002), Anak (1998), and Everything About Her (2016) continue to be iconic to the point that the messages and emotional appeals of the films are still relevant to the newer generations.

“Equal ‘yung pakiramdam mo sa kanya 10 years ago kumpara ngayon. Ito ‘yung tamang panahon sa aking pananaw,” Dingdong said, expressing his admiration to Vilma’s influence throughout generations and how the present is the perfect time for her to receive the award. He noted that Vilma’s “Dekada ‘70” is still mentioned and studied in certain schools.

Dingdong also stated that besides Aktor PH, there are at least 20 other arts-related groups alongside fan communities pushing for the star’s nomination for the prestigious award and other famous celebrities who support and look up to her including Charo Santos-Concio, Alden Richards, Baron Geisler, Julie Ann San Jose, Rayver Cruz, Isko Moreno, Gabby Concepcion, and Tirso Cruz III.

The selection process for the National Artist Award is a long procedure wherein a nominee is voted upon and deliberated by the joint boards of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and all living National Artists through several sessions, until they are presented to the President of the country.

With reports from Prince Bryan J. M. Marquez