Authority and legal basis
- The President institutes the award pursuant to the powers vested in the President by law.
- The awarding is carried out as a special Presidential Award known as the Golden Heart Presidential Award.
Policy and purpose
- The award recognizes Filipino citizens and resident foreigners and other friends of the Filipino people who render distinguished services or provide noteworthy monetary or other material aid.
- Recognition is directed to services and aid that contribute to the campaign for the amelioration and improvement of the moral, social and economic conditions of the masses of our people, with emphasis on rural areas.
Coverage of award recipients
- The Golden Heart Presidential Award may be presented to any individual, organization or entity.
- The award may be presented to qualifying recipients either here or abroad.
- Qualifying recipients include those who have:
- rendered meritorious and distinguished services, or
- contributed noteworthy monetary or other material aid and encouragement to the government’s campaign.
Award design and medal features
- The Golden Heart Medal features on its obverse two outstretched hands offering to the people a golden heart.
- The obverse includes the motto and theme: “MANUM TUAM APERVIT INOPE”, with a Latin interpretation of Proverbs 31:20 referring to opening one’s heart to the needy and stretching forth hands to the poor.
- The obverse includes the surrounding legend: “THE GOLDEN HEART PRESIDENTIAL AWARD.”
- The reverse of the medal bears the Presidential Seal surrounded by a plain border on which the name of the recipient may be engraved.
Forms of award by recipient type
- For individual awards, the award consists of the medal and ribbon.
- For organizations or entities, the award is a simple narra plaque on which the obverse and reverse of the medal are placed.
- The medal is intended to be bronze gilded and of little intrinsic value, yet treated as a valued and honored heirloom for recipients to hand down to successors.
Funding and Congressional appropriation rule
- The Golden Heart Presidential Award is not limited to those giving large financial or other material contributions.
- Similar aids that represent comparatively equal or even greater sacrifice are recognized as valid grounds for the award.
- The award is paid for from the discretionary fund of the President of the Philippines until Congress sets aside an appropriation for the award.