Ceremonial Hall, Malacañan Palace
May 4, 2025
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to honor four (4) outstanding individuals who, though they have passed from our world, continue to shape our art, our cinema, our music and our culinary landscape. These are the proud bearers of many aspects of our culture: Ms. Gloria Romero, Gaita Fores, Pilita Corrales, Nora Aunor,” remarked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. when he led the posthumous conferment of the Presidential Medal of Merit to the aforementioned female cultural icons in a solemn ceremony at Malacañan Palace.
The President lauded the four (4) awardees for redefining the meaning of excellence, noting how they dedicated their lives to sharing their remarkable gifts that left a lasting legacy on the nation’s consciousness.
He paid tribute to each beloved cultural icon, citing their outstanding contributions that illuminated national consciousness and elevated Filipino pride not just in the country but across the globe.
“Gloria Romero graced our screens for generations. Her career spanned an entire era, yet her presence not once ever felt dated…She grew with the film and the television industry, or perhaps, and I think this is even more accurate, the industry grew around the one and only Gloria Romero,” said President Marcos Jr. in honoring Gloria Anne Borrego Galla.
“Now Gaita reimagined Italian cuisine by giving it a Filipino heart…She was posthumously honored with the 2025 Woodford Reserve Icon Award. Gaita left a legacy that will be remembered in the meals that she created,” he fondly recalled of Chef Margarita Araneta Fores who was named Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2016.
“Pilita Corrales, the one and only Asia’s Queen of Songs. Her voice cradled people across continents, but she always came home to her native Cebuano and Tagalog – to the music that raised us,” the President remarked in paying tribute to Pilar Garrido Corrales.
“Look at Nora Aunor. How do we even speak of Ate Guy without feeling an ache in our chest?… Her list of accolades are, is extensive: international awards from Europe to Africa, maraming FAMAS, Gawad Urian, Metro Manila Film Festival, Luna, Star Awards. FAMAS Hall of Fame siya. Named as National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts, and rightfully so,” President Marcos Jr. proudly remarked on the late ‘Superstar’ Nora Cabaltera Villamayor.
The President conveyed his deepest appreciation to the families of these outstanding Filipinas for sharing them with the people as they inspired generations of artists with their exceptional talent and exemplary contributions, even mentoring the new generation with utmost professionalism.
“To Gloria, to Margarita, to Pilita, to Nora, it seems very little but the best we can do – maraming, maraming, maraming salamat po. You live on in every artist who takes the risk, in every child who has fond dreams, and every citizen who wishes to let the world know what it means to be a Filipino,” President Marcos Jr. ended in his heartfelt message.
* * *