A.M. No. RTJ-99-1460, 99-7-273-RTC, RTJ-06-1988 - Office of the Court Administrator vs. Floro, Jr.

Proclamation No. 1001 (Apr. 27, 1972) created the Award/Decoration of National Artist under the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP); Proclamation No. 1144 (May 15, 1973) amended it, establishing a National Artists Awards Committee (the CCP Board of Trustees) and tasking it to draft rules and administer the award.
Presidential Decree No. 208 (June 7, 1973) reaffirmed the CCP Board’s authority. Republic Act No. 7356 (Apr. 3, 1992) created the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), mandating it to extend recognition of artistic achievement through awards and to advise the President on special decorations.
In September 2007 the CCP and the NCCA jointly issued comprehensive guidelines covering:

A National Artist Award Secretariat and Special Research Group to verify nominations.
A two-stage Council of Experts (First and Second Deliberation Panels) to screen and rank nominees.
Final deliberation by the joint CCP and NCCA Boards plus living National Artists, producing a ranked list for Presidential proclamation.

Implementing Rules and Regulations of Executive Order No. 236 (Dec. 23, 2003) and EO 435 (June 8, 2005) recognized that existing CCP–NCCA modalities for National Artists remain in force and that the Presidential Committee on Honors may only screen nominations for abuse of discretion and good standing.

Nomination period: Sep. 2007–Feb. 2008; 87 nominees pre-screened; First Deliberation (Apr. 3, 2009) shortlisted 32; Second Deliberation (Apr. 23) shortlisted 13; Final Deliberation (May 6) selected four:

A joint CCP–NCCA letter of May 6, 2009, transmitted these names to President Arroyo. Separately, the Presidential Committee on Honors invited outside nominations and recommended four additional individuals—Guidote-Alvarez, Caparas, Mañosa, Moreno—who had not been on the CCP–NCCA list.
Proclamation Nos. 1823–1829 (June 30–July 6, 2009) declared eight National Artists, including the four joint-board picks and the four extra names. Public outcry and a petition for prohibition, certiorari, injunction followed; on Aug. 25, 2009, the Supreme Court issued a status quo order enjoining conferment and release of benefits to the four extra appointees.

Do petitioners (National Artists, Prof. Gemino Abad, other cultural workers, Concerned Artists of the Philippines) have standing?
Are the remedies of prohibition, injunction, certiorari available given that the disputed proclamations have been issued?

What is the nature and scope of the President’s power to confer the Order of National Artists?
Did former President Arroyo gravely abuse her discretion by adding Guidote-Alvarez, Caparas, Mañosa, and Moreno—none of whom were recommended by the CCP–NCCA process—and by dropping one of the joint-board picks (Dr. Ramon Santos)?
Was Guidote-Alvarez disqualified from nomination under the CCP–NCCA guidelines and Republic Act No. 7356?