Dolphy gets presidential award

MANILA — This one is no longer a laughing matter for top comedian Dolphy.

The presidential award called the Grand Collar (Maringal na Kuwintas of the Order of the Golden Heart) awarded to him by President Benigno S. Aquino III in Malacanang last Monday.

Even as he accepted the highest award given to a private citizen from no less than President Aquino, the comedy king of the Philippines couldn’t help but put everybody in stitches in Malacanang.

The 82-year-old Dolphy feigned falling when the President was putting the Grand Collar (Maringal na Kuwintas of the Order of the Golden Heart) on him that elicited the familiar laughter from guests, including partner, the singer-actress Zsa Zsa Padilla, and members of the Quizon family.

“I will treasure this award… until my memorial park,” Dolphy said in his short acceptance remark which drew another round of laughter.

This maybe is better than the National Artist award – the National Arthritis award, he added.

Dolphy has actually been nominated for the National Artist award but the boards of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the two government agencies in charge of the National Artist Awards, has never voted for him as national artist.

The President conferred the award for Dolphy’s distinguished career in show business and high standards during his more than 60 years in the entertainment industry.

The award also recognized his charity works and other philanthropic projects under the Dolphy Aid Para sa Pinoy Foundation that gives scholarships to deserving children of overseas Filipino workers.

The Order of the Golden Heart was established in 1954 by the late President Ramon Magsaysay to recognize individuals who had rendered distinguished services or material aid to improve the condition of the masses.

According to Executive Order no. 236, the Order of the Golden Heart, previously known as the Golden Heart Presidential Award, “gives official recognition to Filipino or foreign citizens who have rendered distinguished services or given noteworthy monetary or other material aid, encouragement to the campaign for the amelioration and improvement of the moral, social, and economic conditions of the Filipino masses, and for volunteerism in the service of the Filipino masses.”

The last person to receive the Grand Collar award on May 20, 1955 was Helen Keller, who, despite losing her hearing and vision at the tender age of 19 months, overcame overwhelming odds and grew into a highly intelligent and sensitive woman who wrote, spoke, and dedicated a lifetime work to help the less fortunate particularly the deaf-blind persons in several countries including the Philippines.