In a joint ceremony held at the French Ambassador's Residence on December 5, Ambassador Marie Fontanel awarded Arsenio Lizaso, former chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and Dr. Joven Cuanang, president and founder of the Pinto Art Museum the Rank of Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters of France.

The French National Order of the Arts and Letters is an award given by the Ministry of Culture to individuals who have been outstanding in their artistic creation or who have contributed to the promotion of culture in France and in the world.