1. What was the press like during the Spanish Period?

Early newspapers were dedicated to translating European gazettes with the purpose of granting
Filipino natives the privilege of being informed of the pleasing news from foreign gazettes. Some papers
also translated these gazettes to counter false news from opposing countries such as France. Ergo, this
reinforced an even better image of Spain in the eyes of the readers. This running theme of making sure
the news only shed good light on Spain can be observed all throughout the Spanish occupation in the
Philippines. Since newspapers around the time were controlled by the Spanish, the content of these
papers was limited only to news related to Spain, whereas news related to Filipino affairs were
considered irrelevant.

Strict Spanish censorship laws were also imposed. Since the Spanish governance of the
Philippines was always conducted from both political and religious perspectives, press censorship was
limited only to politics, government, morals and religion. There was no press freedom. You take that and
combine it with Spain’s egotistic standard of worthwhile news, and you get a perfect picture of what the
press coverage during the Spanish regime usually looked like: Spain just constantly tooting their own
horn for the entire nation to see. Since the government had control over the press, one of the main
advantages was that Spain had convenient press coverage for absolutely anything they wanted to boast
about or call attention to and bar any discouraging news that could hurt their egos. This colonial outlook
most newspapers adopted at the time only further suffocated the voices of the Filipinos.

However, the Propaganda Movement began and revolution invigorated the native press, giving it
a significant role on the national scene. The Propaganda Movement aimed to achieve assimilation with
Spain. As talk of reforms such as Filipino representation in the Spanish Cortes, equality among Filipinos
and the Spanish, the secularization of parishes, expulsion of friars and the freedom of speech and the
press, began to make headway in the media, there was a shift in desire to adopt a more all-inclusive
outlook in the press instead of a predominantly colonial one.

The revolution continued after the failed Pact of Biak na Bato and soon after the Philippines
declared independence from Spain. Filipinos then established their own publications like La
Independencia, which was the first paper that advocated for the independence of the Philippine Islands,
and La Republica Filipina, which advocated for a free public and stern government. Despite the larger
Filipino presence in the press, most publications that opened fresh off the battle with Spain still retained
heavy Spanish influences as evidenced by their Spanish publication names, the continued use of the
Spanish language and recurring Catholic themes. Given that Filipinos were under Spain’s rule for
centuries, it’s no surprise that Spanish influences were ingrained into Filipino culture and were,
consequently, reflected in the press.

2. What were the most striking publications during the...

I believe two publications in particular were very prominent back during the Spanish period. In the
midst of the revolution against Spain, La Solidaridad led the publications during that time. Headed by
Graciano Lopez Jaena and staffed by Filipino liberals like Jose Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar, the Luna
Brothers, Isabelo de los Reyes and Dominador Gomez, the talent and resolve behind the publication was
as strong as ever. La Solidaridad was established with a purpose to achieve assimilation with Spain and
tackle problems that involved the general interest of the nation. Knowing the discrimination and
oppression Filipinos experienced for centuries under the Spanish regime, they especially prioritized
defending the interests and rights of the Filipino people and strongly advocated for equality among
Filipinos and Spaniards.They sought solutions that were national and democratic—all-inclusive of the
Spanish citizens and natives. They initially did not desire independence from Spain but instead demanded
that Filipinos be represented in the Spanish Cortes and be recognized as a province of Spain, in pursuit
of their agenda of legal equality for all. They also demanded freedom of speech and the press, which
proves their integrity as writers and journalists as well. This publication in particular was very familiar
since it was constantly discussed in all my history and civics subjects in elementary school and high
school. My teachers emphasized the massive influence this publication and it’s staff had on the
Propaganda Movement and was one of the most prominent publications to advocate against the
oppression and enslavement of the Filipino people.

In the midst of finally achieving independence from Spain, La Independencia is also a notable
publication that was pegged as the first paper to advocate for independence from Spain—the first really
Philippine newspaper. The editor of the paper, General Antonio Luna, claimed that La Independencia was
a revival of La Solidaridad. Setting it’s foundation upon a country that has just been freed from centuries
of slavery, the publication became the official voice of the Philippine Republic against the Americans that
soon settled in the Philippines. It had the reputation of being the most prominent and widely-read
newspaper of the time and soon enough it spearheaded the campaign for Philippine independence during
the American occupation. Seeing the parallels between La Solidaridad and La Independencia, it’s evident
that both publications strived for the same goal and offered significant contributions in the struggle for
attaining freedom for the Filipino people.

During the Japanese occupation, I personally think the guerrilla press was most prominent since
they shared similar struggles earlier publications experienced. Compared to the revolution against Spain,
the resistance against Japan was much more violent and consisted of a lot of underground guerrilla
activity which, I suppose, did not allow a lot of luxuries for the guerrilla press at the time. Journalist-
guerrillas published typewritten and mimeographed sheets of paper that were easily considered as written
death sentences since people who were caught having a copy were usually killed. As thousands of
Filipinos struggled to fight against the oppression brought upon by the Japanese, the guerrilla press had
admirable ambitions that were testament to the perseverance and integrity of the Philippine press even in
times of war. They aimed to boost morale among the Filipinos and fight against the Japanese in any way
possible.

During the modern times, since newspaper publishing became more of a business venture, I
don’t think the papers during this era were as nationalistically-driven as earlier papers. I say this because
it was a period of competition and rivalry between publications—to see which one could reign supreme in
a limited sphere of influence. Instead of fighting against an outside force that threatened the freedom of
the country, they fought against each other and operated not just to serve the Filipino people but to further
cement their place in a steadily growing competitive market as well. They also started charging for the
distribution of their papers in order to keep operations going. Obviously, the industry was very business-
driven, which wasn’t entirely a bad thing since it also opened opportunities for the industry to expand and
develop. I don’t have that much of an opinion for any of the publications during this time but after doing
my research, I think that The Philippines Herald of DMHM publication chain, and the Manila Times of the
TVT publication chain (The Manila Times Publishing Co., Inc.) were quite prominent.

The Philippines Herald was first published on the initiative of Senate President Manuel Quezon.
The Herald’s purpose was simple enough and it’s ambitions vaguely reminiscent of earlier publications
that stood for capturing the voice of the Filipino people. Manuel Quezon gathered wealthy Filipinos to
support a paper that served as the voice of the Filipinos in an attempt to avoid the misrepresentation of
Filipinos among members of the U.S. Congress. Despite its attempts to ease relations with Americans
being the main reason for its existence, it still stood for the voice of the Filipinos.

The Manila Times is also prominent. After decades of changes and changes in ownership, it’s
currently the oldest extant English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It was founded over 120 years
ago by an Englishman named Thomas Gowan and was mainly created to serve the Americans who
were sent to Manila to fight in the Spanish–American War. Despite it’s complicated history, I thought
the longevity of this publication was worth pointing out since it’s also an example of the
perseverance of the Philippine press despite the challenges faced over the decades.

3. What do you think would have happened if the Philippine press hadn't started during the Spanish
regime?

The Philippine press is the way it is today because of the hard-fought battles it has faced over
various periods in Philippine history.

The idea of gaining independence would’ve never been entertained had the revolution not
happened and inspired the native press to take a stand against the oppression of Filipinos. Filipinos were
enslaved by Spanish colonizers for centuries and their affairs weren't even considered relevant news.
Filipinos only ever consumed news about Spain and this contributed to them being continuously
brainwashed into adopting this Spanish colonial mindset. Despite the utter lack of press freedom and
legal equality among natives and Spaniards, if the Philippine press at the time hadn't fought for the
freedom of their people then Filipinos would've never been enlightened to their oppression under the
Spanish rule nor would they have realized that the Philippines was the true Motherland. Independence
wouldn't have ever been possible without the press' involvement in the movement towards equality for
Filipinos and eventually Philippine independence during the height of the revolution against Spain.

History has developed the mindsets of Filipino journalists and has contributed to cementing the
foundation of what it means to be a journalist in the Philippines today. Philippine journalism wouldn't have
been as established as it was now without learning a thing or two from the forerunners who fought during
the Spanish regime and every single period from then on. This struggle for the freedom of the Philippines
and the press now spans centuries and still continues on today in light of the increasing threats to press
freedom brought by the Duterte regime.

Had history not run its course—had the press and other important figures like the illustrados and
the Katipunan not stood for the freedom of the people—no one would’ve ever stood up against our
colonizers. The Philippines would have suffered and been oppressed for much longer and, due to being
desensitized by centuries of enslavement and mistreatment, Filipinos wouldn’t have batted an eye.