Contemporary

Philippine Arts from

the Regions
Filipino Artists and Their Contribution to
Contemporary Arts:
LUTGARDO L. LABAD

Painting on the work of Lutgardo L. Labad

By Boholana Artist Laureate HERMOGENA “Nene” LUNGAY
What This Module is All About

Welcome to this module!

Hello learners! Congratulations! You have come to this module wherein
you will encounter, explore, and deeply understand the life, works, and
significant contributions of Lutgardo Labad to the culture and the arts not
only in Bohol but all over the country.

What I Need to Know from this module

1. Explain Filipino artists’ roles and identify their contribution to
contemporary arts. CAR11/12CAP-0c -e-5
a. discuss the life and works of Lutgardo Labad;
b. value and appreciate the works of Lutgardo Labad to the Philippine culture
and the arts; and
c. examine Lutgardo Labad’s journey and contributions to the culture and the
arts using a timeline in a Powerpoint presentation.

How to Learn from this Module

To achieve the objectives cited above, you are to do the following:
• Take your time reading the lessons carefully.
• Follow the directions and/or instructions in the activities and exercises
diligently.
• Answer all the given tests and exercises.
 Lesson INTRODUCTION

1 LUTGARDO LABAD:
BIOGRAPHY & HIS WORKS

What I Need to Know

Who is Lutgardo “Gardy” Labad? In this lesson, you will
learn about his life, works, and contribution to Filipino
culture and the arts. There is no way you can miss Lutgardo
Labad’s presence in the cultural scene. He is the man behind
the internationally acclaimed Loboc Children’s Choir and he
is a consummate theater advocate even before he headed NCCA’s
dramatic arts committee. But it is in the film industry that his
contribution will surely not be found wanting.
His incomparable dedication to craftsmanship and excellence shows how
Filipinos live and work. Many cultural practices of indigenous communities were preserved
because of passion, abilities, and tenacity in passing down their tradition to the youngsters.
It is one thing to be recognized as a living legend of the arts in the Philippines, and it’s a
whole other thing completely to be acknowledged as an artist who has kept a rare sort of
traditional Filipino creativity.

What’s New
Activity 1: Coloring the words
For you to assess your level of understanding of the
biography and works of Lutgardo Labad, you are going
to hunt the word or group of words related to it by
coloring it using your crayons or colored pen. You can
trace the word/s horizontal, vertical, diagonal,
backward, or another way to form words. Write your
answer in a sheet of paper.
G P A R T S Y W J L U D
A O H K N C C A H O R I
R L T V O T A L H H Y R
D K C I L G I K A O A E
Y Y O O J T W G R B V C
N T M F A I H F U B R T
B H P D R I E E U P A O
F N O S T L C T A E H R
E M S X I O R U L T S T
S A E Z S D Q O M A R P
A D R M T R S R V D G E
C U L T U R E E B Y Y H

What is it

LUTGARDO L. LABAD
Lutgardo Luza Labad or
“Gardy”, a native of Baclayon, Bohol,
is a multi-awarded theater and film
composer, a theater director, and a
cultural development specialist in the
various fields of education,
governance, and community
development work. He has directed
around fifty plays, composed for
about 90 movies and music theater,
and conducted hundreds of
community arts capability-building
programs across the country and
abroad.
 From the seventies to the
early nineties he trained in and
nurtured the progress of one of
the major national theater
groups in the Philippines, the
Philippine Educational Theater
Association or PETA. Inspired by
his first theater mentor PETA
founder Cecile Guidote Alvarez,
he conceived the basic
foundations of the PETA Creative Pedagogy called BITAW or Basic Integrated Theater Arts
Workshop. He was Pedagogy and Artistic Director of PETA for many years leading the
faculty of artists-teachers in creating workshop curricula for communities, schools, and
groups all over the country, in Asia, North America, and Europe.
In 1994, he left PETA and settled in the Visayas region, in his home province of
Bohol, where he has become engaged in cultural development work. As a member-officer of
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts or NCCA, he led the use of the creative
theater arts pedagogy approach in developing community arts workshops and production
programs across the region. He applied the same creative methodology in the development
of strategic plans and programs for various communities and provinces in the Philippines,
focusing on heritage, environment, poverty alleviation, and social development agenda, and
most recently on the establishment of creative industries in the Visayas. In the last ten
years, he has concentrated on the establishment and organizing of community theaters in
Bohol and other provinces of the Visayas, as a major component of sustainable community
development, and a people-based model for community-based ecological and cultural
tourism.
 He is the international manager of the
internationally acclaimed LOBOC CHILDREN’S CHOIR
and a founding leader of the BOHOL ARTS AND
CULTURAL HERITAGE or BACH COUNCIL. He
established a repertory theater company in Bohol, the
KASING SINING TEATRO BOL-ANON ENSEMBLE and
since its foundation in 1997, it continues to facilitate the
development of original Boholano plays reflecting the
history, culture, aspirations, and visions of the Boholano
people. It has also mentored the emergence of
community cultural programs in various towns of
Bohol. His national awards include Film Scores for
several significant Filipino movies from national award-
giving bodies like FAMAS, the Metro Manila Film Fest,
URIAN, and the Film Academy of the Philippines, and an
award for Best Theater Director in 2010 from the Aliw
Awards for his direction of the PETA production Post
Office. He was a senior grantee of a Fellowship from the
NIPPON FOUNDATION as an Asian Public Intellectuals (API). Most recently, PHILSTAGE
awarded Gardy the NATATANGING BUHAY AWARD 2019 for his lifetime achievement in
theater, and the FILM DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF THE PHILIPPINES has chosen him as
one of the national luminaries who have contributed to the development of the Philippine
film industry.
Currently, he is a member of the NCCA Task Force for Cultural Mapping, Special
Program for the Arts for DepEd, and Philippine Values. He is Artistic and Pedagogy Director
of the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage (BACH) Institute, and Cultural Consultant for the
master plan of the Region VII Regional Cultural Hub, and the forthcoming NCCA Teleserye
on Philippine Values.

What’s More
Activity 2: Reaction Paper

After reading the texts, write a

reaction paper on the life and
works of Lutgardo Labad to the
Philippine culture and the arts.
Write it on a short bond paper.
What I Have Learned
Congratulations because you were able to succeed the activity
above. As we’ve discussed and identified the life and works of Lutgardo
Labad, what have you learned about his journey as an artist? What
qualities or values you have acquired from his story and how would you
apply them in your life as a student and as a Filipino? Do you think that
Lutgardo Labad has what it takes to become recognized as a National
Artist of the Philippines? Why do you say so?

What I Can Do
Creating a Timeline
Highlight Lutgardo Labad’s journey and
contributions to the culture and the arts.
Then, create a timeline about it using a
Powerpoint presentation and show your
presentation to the class.

Criteria:
Creativity – 20
Content and Organization – 20
Overall Presentation – 10
TOTAL – 50 points
Submit your Powerpoint presentation via email:
kristiannikkog@gmail.com. This will be done by pair.