Discussion Paper about the History of Philippine Media During

Japanese Occupation and Postwar Era

By: John Paul Buenaventura
I. INTRODUCTION

Filipino history textbooks frequently portray the Japanese as one of the nation's worst
villains despite the fact that they ruled the Philippines for only three years, compared to the over
333 years of Spanish rule and the 40 years of American rule .

The destruction of documentation and recordings of prewar radio in the Philippines as a

result of the tremendous destruction caused by the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during
the Second World War is partially to blame for the demise of historical writing on early radio.
The guerrilla and underground press served the citizenry's need for accurate information on the
state of the country, the anti-Japanese resistance, and developments on the war fronts around the
world during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, when the Japanese used the corporate
media that had grown under the US colonial regime to influence and shape public opinion. All
publications, excluding those in use, were suspended when World War II began they were
disbanded by the Japanese. Only three publications were permitted to be published while being
regularly censored by the Japanese Imperial Army: the Manila Tribune, Taliba, and La
Vanguardia. The Osaka Mainichi Publishing Company was given control of all publications that
were taken over by the Japanese wartime administration. A board of information acted as the
regulatory authority. Control, direct, monitor, and coordinate all information and publicity of the
Japanese-sponsored government" was its stated purpose. Contrary to popular belief, the
alternative press has a longer history and has played a key role in giving the precise information
required during the height of the ongoing crisis that has characterized Filipino reality for more
than a century. The dominant press, which during the Spanish era was controlled by the colonial
government and from the time of US colonial rule to the present has been controlled by political
and business interests, lacks the political and economic ties that define the dominant press as the
primary reason for this distinctive capacity.

After the war, Filipino press was recognized as the "freest in Asia" and was claimed to be
the "golden period of Philippine media. The majority of newspapers were, as they are now,
entirely or partially owned by corporations. Some publications also have radio and television
 stations. The media during this time functioned as a real monitor of the government. It was
considerate of global concerns and critical of errors made by the administration.

This discussion paper tells about the history of Philippine Media during Japanese
Occupation and Postwar Era on what the Filipino people experienced during Japanese
Occupation and what they did in the post war era.

II. ARGUMENTS AND EVIDENCE

This part presents and discusses the different variables that have been arguments and
evidence been used in this discussion.

ARGUMENTS
One of the darkest times in history, in the eyes of Filipinos, was the Japanese occupation of
the Philippines from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War. Several Filipinos, from the
upper class to the common people, endured hardship and were harmed by the Japanese forces.
A new Filipino structure of government was quickly put into place by Japanese military
forces. The majority of the Philippine elite, with a few notable exceptions, served under the
Japanese, despite the Japanese having promised independence for the islands after occupation.
Initially, they established a Council of State through which they managed civil affairs until
October 1943.
Filipino literature was given a respite with the ban on writing literary works in English. Many
Filipino authors produced plays, poems, short tales, and other literary works in Tagalog and
other regional languages. To avoid Japanese censorship and supervision, topics and themes
frequently focused on provincial life.
The Cold War, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War are three significant political
events that characterize the time between the end of World War II in 1945 and 1970. An
extensive range of social and political transformations that occurred in America at that time were
framed by these three major events.
The Second World War saw the development of Japanese understanding of the Philippines,
leading to a profusion of Japanese writings on the country that spanned from governmental-
military reports to fictional literature. These writings have been critiqued in earlier works or
simply ignored as the result of a "wrong" history of Japan during its imperial era. Japanese
wartime memoirs written by individuals were criticized as "ethnocentric," "self-deceiving," and
"violent."
Even to Japan's formal surrender on September 2, 1945, fighting went on. By the time the
war was done, the Philippines had experienced significant bodily harm and substantial physical
ruin. According to estimates, 1 million Filipinos had died from all causes; of these, 131,028 were
reported as having died in 72 war crime incidents. The number of U.S. losses was 10,380 dead
and 36,550 wounded.

EVIDENCES
Philippine Media during Japanese Occupation: 1941-1945

All media outlets were taken over and under Japanese army control as part of the
Japanese propaganda. Japanese people took over all forms of communication, particularly the
media. The Propaganda Corps of the Japanese Army, which was founded in October 1942 and
later renamed Department of Information of the Imperial Japanese Forces, was tasked with
spreading Japanese culture and ideologies.

The secrecy of these publications contributed to the lack of documentation that is

currently available. Although directly disturbing the Japanese was not the major goal, the
emphasis was more on lifting the morale of the soldiers and guerillas. Also, it is unknown how
many papers there were because they were distributed to help the hidden movement. Examples
are: Leyte-Samar Free Philippines, The Coordinator, Ang Tigbatas.

Guerilla Press

In order for the guerilla effort to gain public support, underground periodicals were
created. This is done in an effort to combat Japanese propaganda. Also, to educate the populace
about the guerilla movement's objectives and activities. They provided precise updates on the
war's progress. Because the guerilla movement was better organized and had a weaker grasp on
Japan, this was primarily conducted in secret and concentrated on the Visayas (Panay and Leyte).
Infrequently printed underground newspapers were mimeographed or typewritten. They
delivered information about collaborators from the Philippines, Japanese atrocities, and guerilla
activity. To raise the guerillas' spirits and draw in additional supporters, they also composed
 poems and short stories. Being found in possession of an anti-Japanese newspaper during the war
resulted in bodily harm and/or death. Journalists of community publications and even those with
no background wrote for the guerilla newspapers.

The Postwar Era: 1945-1972

The golden age of Philippine journalism was characterized by scholarly, noble-minded

writers and editors, as well as women journalists who covered serious matters. During the war,
being caught with an anti-Japanese publication meant physical torture and/or death, but it still
continued because it was the only source of accurate information. During this time, the press was
compelled to a "marriageit is convenient "to powerful political organizations and corporations.
Large company complexes either owned all or a majority of the newspapers. The Soriano
companies (dairy, soft drinks, airlines) owned Herald; the Aranetas (sugar and real estate)
controlled Weekly Graphic; and Menzi (farm plantations) owned Bulletin and Liwayway. The
Lopezes, who were involved in shipping, had interests in the Manila Chronicle. The Elizaldes,
who were involved in rope, insurance, and broadcasting, owned the Evening News. In addition to
having connections to business complexes, some of these

Other media, particularly radio and television, were under the control and interest of
newspapers. The Manila Times possessed at least four radio stations and two television stations
at the time, the Manila Chronicle had roughly thirty radio and television stations, and The Herald
belonged to a radio-television network. Due to their reliance on financial and political support,
media organizations engage in self-censorship and information vetting that they believe would
harm their financial and political backers. Television was introduced in 1953, but access was
limited due to high import duties. In 1960, only 10% of the television programs were live (local)
productions. The earliest initiative to use local television for education was through a program
called "Education on TV" in 1961. In 1964, a project called the Metropolitan Educational
Association (META) in cooperation with the Ateneo Center for Television Closed Circuit
Project produced a series in physics Filipino and social sciences. Women journalists such as
Carmen Guerrero, Nati Nuguid, Rosalinda and Leonor Orosa wrote serious columns for several
newspapers and magazines.

III. COUNTERARGUMENTS
 Jose Rizal's oft-quoted quote, “Who does not know how to look back at where he came from
will never get to his destination," which emphasized the importance of history towards nation
building, has been a point of contention for historians of the Philippines. The task becomes more
difficult after a country emerges from a difficult event, as the country struggles to understand
what had just happened. In order to obtain credibility, formal history teaching adopted a
nationalist slant to win over the populace in the years following independence. Grand narratives
were created by historians that described the Philippines as having been "found," "civilized" by
the Spanish, "developed" by the Americans, and "destroyed" by the Japanese. Although such a
plot felt appropriate for the immediate postwar period, the issue with the grand narrative is that
little has changed since it was first introduced. Because of this, in addition to creating political
and economic frameworks, the involvement of the education and media sectors was crucial to the
success of these government-led undertakings.

In a previous study (Cheng Chua 2013), I tracked the evolution of the visual depiction of
Japanese in Philippine komiks that were published in the widely read semi-intellectual journal
Liwayway, which was founded in 1922. Major vernaculars with translated versions in Bisaya,
Hiligaynon, Bikolano, and Ilokano saw an expansion in readership. The study focused on how
Japanese representation changed as it related to challenges that Filipinos were grappling with
from the immediate aftermath of the war to the present.

The general public can consume a wide range of popular media. According to specialists of
children's literature, media aimed toward children appears to have the most influence. Children
are the future adults who will make up the future society, according to Kutzer in her article
Empire's Children: Empire & Imperialism in Classic British Children's Books (Kutzer 2000).
The future society's structure is created through the education of these children, whether formally
(through schooling) or informally (through reading books). Additionally, Griffiths would add
that by examining the method by which they impart knowledge of all kinds to children,
children's media is the finest way to grasp the values of adults of the era as well as the frequently
gaping discrepancy between what they say and do (Griffiths, 2007). Children's literature should
not be disregarded by scholars as a channel of influence.

IV. CONCLUSION
 As it concluded that, it needs to reinforce the collective national ego was obvious in postwar
works that contrasted the bravery of Filipino guerillas and the nation's eventual American saviors
with the nearly universally evil Japanese as the Philippines emerged from the horrors of war.
This, at least, is the type of altering national mentality that these works of media literature seem
to portray and may have contributed to transferring to the historical memory of the following
generation.

In this matter, it concluded that even we Filipinos experienced lots of difficulties during this
era but after this brutal era, Filipinos were still fighting the freedom of press were they can
show to every nationality that the Filipino people are strong enough to handle pain for freedom.

Lastly, Filipino people should protect the freedom of speech and freedom of communication
by showing the true meaning of humanity, fair justice in the society and love of the country.

V. REFFERENCES

Cheng Chua IUK (2005), The stories they tell: Komiks during the Japanese occupation, 1942
1944. Philipp Stud 53:59–95

Griffiths O (2007) Militarizing Japan: patriotism, profit, and children’s print media
1925.Asia-Pacific J 5(9), September 3.
https://apjjf.org/-Owen-Griffiths/2528/article.htmlIkehata S, Jose RT

Kutzer MD (2000) Empire’s children: empire & imperialism in classic British children’
books .Garland Publishing, Inc., New York

Terami-Wada M (1992) Postwar Japanese images in liwayway short stories and serialized
novels, 1946–1988. In: Barte G (ed) 著 : Panahon ng Hapon: Sining sa Digmaan,
Digmaan sa Sining (Japanese Occupation Period: Art in War, War in Art), 脚本. Museo
ng Kalinangang Pilipino, Adarna House, Quezon City, Philippines, pp 83–91

Yu-Rivera H (2005) Patterns of continuity and change: imaging the Japanese in Philippine
editorial cartoons, 1930–1941 and 1946–1956. Ateneo de Manila University Press,
Quezon City