Naniniwala si Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, na panahon ng kilalanin bilang National Artist ang mang-aawit na si Jose Mari Chan.
Ayon sa mambabatas na miyembro ng House Committee on Creative Industries, ‘deserve’ ni Chan ang naturang pagkilala dahil na rin sa tanyag nitong awitin na “Christmas in Our Hearts.”
Punto ni Barbers, bagamat mas sumikat ngayon si Chan dahil sa mga Christmas meme, ay hindi naman aniya makakaila ang walang kupas na mga kanta nito na hanggang ngayon ay sikat na sikat lalo na tuwing holiday season.
“It is easy for us to take Mr. Chan for granted because of the jokes and memes online that have been associated with him whenever the holiday season starts each year. But that doesn’t detract from the timelessly beautiful song that Mr. Chan gave us,” sabi ni Barbers.
Taong 1990 nang pasikatin ni Chan ang naturang awitin na ngayon ay isa na sa mga iconic Christmas songs sa bansa.
“We tend to overlook the importance of the song he composed because it’s like you’re singing the bible story of Jesus–the most important human -God in the world during the time of the year that we should give him honor for saving us from sins. For this, we should be grateful to Mr. Chan and I would say he is very deserving of the National Artist title. At the very least, he should be considered for it. They simply don’t make classic balladeers like him anymore. His songwriting genius and Filipino sensibilities set him apart even during his heyday. Its only but proper to give Mr. Chan his flowers while he is still with us,” sabi pa niya.
Si Chan ay tinatawag din bilang “King of Philippine Christmas Carols.”
Kakausapin naman ni Barbers si Pangasinan Rep. Christopher de Venecia na siyang chair ng House Committee on Creative Industries upang itulak na maikonsidera at kilalanin si Chane bilang National Artist.| ulat ni Kathleen Jean Forbes
