The families of veteran actresses Nora Aunor and Gloria Romero, renowned singer Pilita Corrales, and multi-awarded chef-restaurateur Margarita Fores receive the Presidential Medal of Merit, May 4, 2025 at the Malacañang Palace. Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday bestowed the Presidential Medal of Merit — one of the highest awards conferred to civilians — to four Filipina icons who passed away this year.

Veteran actresses Nora Aunor and Gloria Romero, renowned singer Pilita Corrales, and multi-awarded chef-restaurateur Margarita Fores received the honor at the Malacañang.

Under Executive Order 236, the Presidential Medal of Merit is given to Filipinos who helped "enhance the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines" by "gaining prestige for the country in an international event, in the fields of literature, the sciences, the arts, entertainment, and other civilian fields of endeavor that foster national pride and artistic excellence."

"To Gloria, to Margarita, to Pilita, to Nora—it seem very little but the best we can do, 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," the President said during the posthumous awarding ceremony in Malacañang, where the awardees' family and friends gathered to celebrate their legacies.

"They are undeniably icons, but more importantly, we can see that the true quality of their art, of their performances came from the core of them being Filipinos," he said.

"They are women who spent their lives sharing their gifts and deepening how we understand ourselves through their respective disciplines. They have made our national consciousness more visible and to be felt worldwide."

GLORIA ROMERO

Marcos Jr. recalled fond memories he shared with each of the awardees, starting with Gloria Romero — who played as his mother Imelda — in the 1965 film "Iginuhit ng Tadhana."

"I remember it very well. I was seven years old. And every – after school… The first day dinala na lang ako sa set. Hindi ko alam, hindi na masyadong naipaliwanag sa akin. But there I was playing myself like an idiot not knowing what I was doing," the President said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

"Oh, by the way, I made P2,000 from that movie," he added, chuckling.

Romero won 7 FAMAS Awards, 3 Gawad Urian Awards, and 4 Luna Awards, among others. The veteran actress passed away on January 25 at 91-years old.

READ: Movie, TV icon Gloria Romero passes away

MARGARITA FORES

Fores — named Asia's Best Female Chef in 2016 — gave the Philippines "something so beautiful and something that we could call our own" through her cooking, Marcos Jr. said.

"When she would make a meal for you, of course, the food was excellent, the food was brilliant, but it was an experience. It was something that you remember," he said.

"But she didn't think she was doing this. She just wanted to cook. She just wanted to make the food better," he said.

"It wasn't something that 'I want to be famous. I want to, you know, have all these awards and all of this,' but just because she just loved – she appreciated, of course, Italian cooking but she loved Filipino cooking enough to say, 'We're just as good as this,'" he said.

After traveling to Italy to broaden her culinary expertise, Fores opened her flagship restaurant Cibo, and eventually expanded her gastronomic empire via restaurants Lusso, Grace Park, The Loggia at Palacio de Memoria, and the catering company Cibo di Marghi. 

She received international commendations, was knighted by the Italian government for her work in promoting the country's cuisine and culture, and was also named a United Nations Ambassador for Gastronomic Tourism. 

Fores, a two-time cancer survivor, passed away on February 11 at 65-years old.

READ: Renowned chef Margarita Forés passes away

PILITA CORRALES

Pilita Corrales performs during the Be You 2 Concert held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on December 9, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File

While Corrales has been dubbed as Asia's Queen of Song thanks to "her voice [that] cradled people across continents," the President remembers the late songstress as a "simple Cebuana girl" who was generous with her time and talent.

"She won Best Performer [at] the Tokyo Music Festival. She was honored with a FAMAS and Lifetime Achievement Awards, and whenever she sang, we would be moved and would feel at home," Marcos Jr. said.

"I am privileged to be able to say that I knew her because in many, many cases kapagka umiikot kami kasama ng father ko, ng mother ko, pagka mayroong mga malalaking event, may rally, may program na ganyan, madalas sumasama siya, and she would always be there… Talagang cowboy," he said.

Corrales became the first Filipino and the first woman to land in the Australian pop charts with her original song, "Come Closer To Me," that made her a star of the Victorian Television circuit.

She also became a pioneer in Australia's early years on television before she made her way back to the Philippines, where she launched multiple record hits.

She died on April 12 at the age of 87.

READ: 'Asia's Queen of Songs' Pilita Corrales dies at 87

NORA AUNOR

Family, friends, and colleagues gather for the state necrological service for National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila, ahead of the state funeral at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on April 22, 2025. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Marcos Jr. said Nora Aunor was also dear to him as he frequently shifted between being a "Noranian" and a "Vilmanian" — the two fandoms named after the late actress and her contemporary former Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos.

"You know there was a time where I had to choose whether to be a Vilmanian or a Noranian. Hindi pa ginagamit 'yung salitang balimbing, balimbing na ako. Palipat-lipat ako pagka kung sino," he said in jest.

"We would see each other at dinners. We would see each other at events. And always I think that Pinoys immediately felt a connection with her. I don't know what it is. It's like one of those intangibles that special people have. That it's really there are no words for it," he said, noting that "Ate Guy" also sang during his 8th birthday.

"This is still how we remember her. Starting from a young girl with the charm of a Filipina… She had the talent, she had the particular skill to communicate that in her song and in her films."

The late actress was a FAMAS Hall of Fame awardee and was a National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts. She passed away in April after a medical procedure. She was 71. 

READ: Nora Aunor, superstar of Philippine cinema, passes away

PRESIDENTIAL MERIT AWARD

The awardees' children and grandchildren were the ones who received the presidential accolade on their behalf, while other family members and close friends were also invited to celebrate their life and achievements.

"It is very important because it's a very high honor that's given to my mom and all the other recipients… That gives us comfort in this trying time," said Jackie Lou Blanco, Corrales' eldest daughter.

"Bittersweet siya kasi… in our case, we've lost our mom but it gives us comfort kasi we know na hindi nasayang, alam mong na-recognize ang mga ginawa niya hindi lang para sa amin pero para sa buong mundo, para sa buong Pilipinas na alam mong mayroon siyang nagawa enough for her to be recognized this way," she said.

The President thanked the awardees' kin for coming to Malacañang and for "sharing" their matriarchs with the rest of the country.

"What they contributed to the country cannot even, even be realized, and certainly cannot be paid back," he said.

"But we will remember and we will pass it on."

READ: Marcos to confer Presidential Medal of Merit to Nora Aunor, Pilita Corrales, Gloria Romero, Margarita Fores