AS THE Poe family marked the 6th death anniversary of Action King Fernando Poe Jr. on Tuesday, wife Susan Roces and daughter Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares said that they have yet to receive the late actor-director?s National Artist award.

He was honored posthumously in 2006, during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. (Poe ran against Arroyo in a highly contested presidential election in 2004.)

?We never claimed the award,? Llamanzares related. ?We are grateful to the artists who voted for my father, but that award was given by the president who was in office at that time.?

With President Benigno Aquino III now in Malacañang, Llamanzares expressed the hope that they would finally receive the award.

?We don?t want to pressure the President. We know how busy he is,? explained Llamanzares who now serves as head of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board. ?We just hope that it would happen in the next few years, while he is still in office.?

It?s important for the Poe family to receive the honor from President Aquino, Llamanzares pointed out. ?The National Artist Award was voted upon by my dad?s fellow artists and we want to receive it from a president who was duly elected by the people.?

Just in time for Poe?s death anniversary, the Philippine Postal Corp. issued commemorative stamps featuring FPJ and other National Artists like Nick Joaquin, Levi Celerio, Carlos L. Quirino and Leonor Orosa-Goquinco a few weeks back.

?It?s heartwarming,? Llamanzares said. ?With these stamps, more people would be able to afford an FPJ image as souvenir.?

Llamanzares added that the FPJ stamps are particularly special because her mom is an avid philatelist herself.

?I?m a stamp collector,? Roces said. ?My father (Dr. Jesus Sonora) introduced me to this hobby when I was young.?

Llamanzares added that her mom has unused sheets of stamps, along with those lifted from letters. ?She is a very patient collector.?