from what i’ve heard and read caparas was proclaimed a national artist for visual arts presumably for his supposed komiks work.

the important phrase here is “visual arts.” again, based on what i heard and read, caparas was given the honor for output/works of which he was not the visual artist/illustrator but the story writer. if this is what really happened then it becomes painfully clear that caparas does not qualify for the title.

some quarters are saying caparas should have instead been considered for the literature category. now that’s another matter, one that should put more emphasis on the issue of whether or not he is deserving.

incidentally i also read somewhere that the award given to him was for visual arts and film. again this is really suspect considering that most of caparas’ film work can only be considered as B-movies if not straight-to-video type projects.
of course that’s just my opinion. as we all know art appreciation is also relative.

what has become clear though is that as a person caparas is lacking in class. considering the controversy arising from this, he should have just surrendered the award. instead, he not only held onto to it he also dismissed the views of his “peers.” by his own admission, caparas is giving more credence to the opinion of pgma, the one who included him in the list of awardees.

i’m not sure if caparas is in dire financial straits but i can’t help to think this may also have to do with the perks and benefits that comes with a national artist title. i find this disturbing. pardon me for naivete on this matter but i still hold the romantic ideal that true ‘artists’ don’t really give a shit about such matters as perks and benefits.

in any case, caparas is really in a class of his own.