AN ONLINE MUSEUM OF THE COUNTRY'S STORIED PRESS PAST

American Occupation

I. Philippine Media During the American Occupation – A Historical Background

The Philippines was at a turbulent, quickly moving setting during the last decade of the 19th century. Revolutions have gained momentum, Spain was losing grip
of its colonies, and ideas of democracy were quickly spreading (arguably from the west) to different nations. Moreover, America was quickly rising to become
another superpower. After settling its own conflict with British and Spanish colonizers and eventually a civil war, the country managed to efficiently set up a
democratic government and sustain one of the most prosperous economic markets in the world.

Another significant change was the Philippines’ rapid press development. From the relatively slow output, due largely to the presiding Spanish friars and
government, Filipinos made their way to quick publication which was of course in line with the revolutionary movement. By the 1890s papers in both the
Spanish and Filipino language were already in circulation.

It was also around this time that not only the Philippines but Cuba as well was fighting for its independence in Spain. A main difference Cuba had from the
Philippines however was the large involvement of the young United States in its affairs. American journalists such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst used
yellow journalism to criticize the Spanish administration of Cuba, which in turn agitated U.S. public opinion on anti-Spanish propaganda. Furthermore, Cuban
rebels had connections with American senators, congressmen and with the press. This difference, however, will not last long as the Philippines would soon share
this essential trait.

The Spanish-American War

On February 15, 1898 a mysterious explosion sank the USS Maine, an American battleship in Havana, Cuba killing 266 of its crewmembers. In April 25 of that
year, the U.S. congress, seeing no other nation with that intention, voted for war against Spain. Thus the Spanish-American war began, a war that inevitably
demanded the Philippines’ involvement.
On May 1, 1898 the American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio
Montojo. This attack is known as the Battle of Manila Bay, famous as the American’s first of many victories against Spain. The victory also gave to the U.S. fleet
complete control of Manila Bay and the naval facilities at Cavite and Sangley Point, thus ushering a new incoming wave of mass foreigners. They would bring
with them, among others, newspapers to both keep posted and entertained.

On August 13, 1898 a scripted battle in Intramuros between the Americans and Spaniards resulted to the Spaniards surrendering the Philippines. The battle,
known as the Mock Battle of Manila Bay, was jointly planned by the opposing Spanish and American forces to keep the city from falling to the Philippine
Revolutionary Army under President General Emilio Aguinaldo. The script was agreed upon because the Spaniards wished not to be viewed as giving up without
a fight. The intentions of this battle reflect how the countries viewed the Philippines, that is, incompetent and vastly inferior.

While the American colonization had started even before any declaration or victory battle, it was on December 10, 1898 when the Treaty of Paris was signed,
when matters became official. The treaty recognized the end of the Spanish-American War. Along with Spain’s defeat, it was to surrender its colonies Guam,
Puerto Rico, and Cuba; the Philippines was bought for 20 million dollars. Prior to the ratification of this treaty however were debates and many conflicting
attitudes.

The Mood of the Times

The general Filipino population of course was wary of being colonized once more. The Americans however were more divided in their opinion of taking in a
country. While some opposed it, saying that it was a violation of the nation’s democratic heritage to annex a country (anti-imperialist leagues), or hypocritical
since the US wasn’t even trying to protect the rights of black citizens (civil rights activists), or even that a “primitive race” should not join the U.S., most voiced
agreements. Agreement opinions varied from economic stances (the Philippines could be a significant foothold for the Americans in the Asian markets) to less
logical ones (Filipinos were viewed as savages incapable of self-government, therefore needing the U.S.’s help). And it was ultimately this pro-view that won.
The Philippines As A Colony Once More

On December 21, 1898 President McKinley issued the Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation. This stated the U.S.’ “altruistic” mission in acquiring the Philippines.
The proclamation further claimed that ““win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants of the Philippines by assuring them in every possible way
that full measure of individual rights and liberties which is the heritage of free peoples…”

Common attitudes the Americans possessed during all this was, for one, the White Man’s Burden or feeling obligated to teach those who are, to their view, not
as learned as Westerners are. Similar to this, the second was a popular idealism at the time, especially in the US, called Manifest Destiny. This concept thought
that Americans were not obligated but destined by fate and God to occupy more lands and spread their influence—or, as they saw it, their goodness and
wisdom.
Another prevalent attitude, this time among Filipinos, was a more subdued urge to rebel. This is explained by the fact that we were being handled with less
severe hands and were in a transitory, as opposed to complete rule, government. Lastly, there was also a strong impression by the Americans of Filipinos being
somehow primitive. American journalists characterized natives of the Philippines as “little brown” soldiers who will support the Americans or, they can be a
warlike tribe who will devour each other when American troops will leave the Philippine soil. It is important to understand the mood of the time because it
always affects public opinion, which makes up a large part of the press.
An important paper established during the pre-American period was the La Independencia. In January of 1899, just after McKinley’s proclamation of the
Benevolent Assimilation, Independencia published the following words:

Our troops are owners of the land. We are not merchandise that can be treated this way
On March 1899 The American acknowledged this public argument and said:

The only way to treat these savages is to show them who is superior
 II. American Vs. Spanish Ways
The difference between the colonial policy of the U.S. and Spain led to the remarkable growth of Filipino publishing and literature. If during the Spanish
occupation the language was kept from indios to preserve its prestige, the American occupation saw a passionate, if not forceful, education of the English
language to the public.

Setting up public schools with American or English-speaking teachers helped boost the use of English. The establishment of Silliman University in 1901 and then
the University of the Philippines in 1908 furthered this cause. Furthermore, there was the coming of English periodicals such as Manila Daily Bulletin (1900),
Cablenews (1902), Philippines Free Press (1907).
Despite the language being new, as early as 1905 there were large efforts by Filipinos to create publications in the English language. In this year, the Filipino
Students’ Magazine was published by Filipino pensionados in Berkeley, California. In 1910, UP released its first College Folio and in 1912 The Coconut, a school
paper by Manila High School, started regular publication. Because of the proliferation of English, Spanish dallies would soon die down and be replaced by the
more domineering, more pervasive English. As Buhain (1999) puts it, “The difference between the colonial policy of the U.S. and Spain led to the remarkable
growth of Filipino publishing and literature.”

But this is not to say that we were allowed total freedom in these areas. Senator Claro M. Recto (as cited in Maslog, 1960), said of the press during the American
occupation,

Freedom of the press was only true in the sense that there was no previous censorship, but the libel laws
were so strictly enforced by the courts that to criticize a high government official meant a stiff prison term
and a sizeable fine, not to mention crippling civil damage
The U.S. encouraged, in theory, a free market. In reality however, only a certain amount of freedom was allowed, and this was only as long as it didn’t damage
the Americans. This reality was nicely covered up in a pretense of freedom, so as not to appear hypocritical. Any paper could be put up, any writer could be, but
once it damages the government, it’s over. Offending writers could be put to jail, most times unfairly, just as much as an anti-Spaniard is previously killed.
More parallels include that of press restrictions. If in the Spanish era censorship was dependent mainly on the Governor General, in the American era,
censorship was based on the law or policy of the constitution. If in the Spanish era De policía de imprenta o Gullón (Printing Order or Gullón) we had Reglamento
de Asuntos de Imprenta (Rules of Printing Matters), during the early American era two laws ruled Philippine publication: Sedition Law (Act No. 292) and the Libel
Law (Act No. 277).
 III. Censorship during the American Occupation

Merriam-Webster defines censorship as “The suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable,
harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or institutions.” It is with this
standard definition then I am able to say that indeed, censorship was practiced during the American period.

The Sedition Law of 1901, enacted by the Philippine Commission headed by Governor General William Howard Taft, declared:

It shall be unlawful for any person to advocate orally, or by writing or printing or like methods, the
independence of the Philippine Islands or their separation from the United States, whether by peaceable
or forcible means, or to print, publish, or circulate any handbill, newspaper, or other publication
advocating such independence or separation.
It can be said that this law was set up to suppress Filipino nationalism, a feeling which prevailed early during the occupation, after the betrayal and threat of
another oppressive colonizer and the immediate loss of a won and short lived independence.
Plays more than any publications suffered from this law the most. Hindi Aco Patay by Juan Cruz, Tanikalang Guinto by Juan Abad, and Kahapon Ngayon at
Bukas by Aurelio Tolentino are examples of plays condemned as seditious. Though the themes were in Tagalog and heavily layered and hidden, Americans were
able to see through this. Each author was sent to prison for two years and fined 2 000 pesos.

The Libel Law of 1904 soon followed, with Taft’s reason for implementation being that the Filipinos were in his view “a strange people unused to the freedom of
the press.” A landmark libel case was the El Renacimiento vs. Worcester Libel Case.
The El Renacimiento vs. Worcester Libel Case
In 1908, US Secretary of the Interior Dean Worcester filed a libel suit against pro-independence newspaper El Renacimiento for its editorial “Aves de Rapina”
(Birds of Prey) by Fidel A. Reyes. This editorial used metaphors. It said that the eagle, an obvious American symbol, was the most “rapacious” bird of prey, and
that these birds, while pretended to be studying the Igorots, were actually looking for gold deposits in the mountains of Luzon. Reyes criticized certain US
colonial government officials “who, besides being eagles, have the characteristics of the vulture, the owl, and the vampire.”

Though Worcester nor his title was not named, he felt alluded to and offended, and so filed for libel in the American ruled court, and won. El Renacimiento
editor Teodoro Kalaw and publisher Martin Ocampo were convicted. Kalaw spent 12 months in prison and had to pay about 25,000 for “moral and punitive
damages”, while Ocampo was required a total fine of 60,000. Furthermore, El Renacimiento and Muling Pagsisilang (Ocampo’s Tagalog daily) were awarded to
Worcester.

El Renacimiento was certainly not alone in this treatment. Other newspapers such as La Justicia, Cebuano, La Independencia and El Nueva Dia were suspended
because of their nationalistic views. Different news about movements against the presence of American forces in the country were suppressed. Journalists who
exercised the freedom of the press, which we were supposedly inherited from America, were deported or imprisoned.
It is in this way that the Philippine press during this time worked in an environment of both free market and censorship.
 IV. Philippine Newspapers During the American Occupation
The Americans, who poured in by the shipload as the war progressed, brought with them among others (such as canned food and new music), their newspapers.
Soldiers had their own publications to look forward to and read during spare time such as the Bounding Billow and the American Soldier, the latter known as the
first English-language paper in the country. There was also the Cablenews and the American, which later on, in 1908, merged to become Cablenews American, a
well-known and respected English daily.

These papers contained mostly news from abroad and the war, and updates on international and as well as Philippine economic growth. On their more
subjective side however, they also held a common and strongly predisposed view of the Philippines. These publications viewed the average Filipino as a non-
thinking, perhaps non-human, savage.
Major Newspapers of the Era
These soldier-centric papers however are minute compared to the circulation of the dailies to come. In 1898 Thomas Gowan, an Englishman living in the
Philippines, founded the Manila Times, the Philippines’ first English-language daily. This was done as a response to an observed “keen demand for an American
newspaper with a daily supply of American news.” The paper had the motto “Pioneer American daily in the Far East” and underneath it, “Published every day
since 1898.” The Times changed hands, in terms of ownership, many times. In 1917 it was sold to Quezon. In 1927, it was bought by Alejandro Roces, Sr. and was
included in his growing newspaper chain (to strengthen his own Tribune). It was however disbanded in 1930, as Roces saw no need for more than one English
paper.

In 1900 Americans H.G. Harris and Carson Taylor founded the oldest existing newspaper in the Philippines, the Manila Daily Bulletin (now known simply as the
Manila Bulletin). The Bulletin started as a shipping journal and was published and distributed for free. In 1912, it decided to widen its scope to include general
interests and became a paid paper. Because of its origins, the paper had a reputation of being the mouthpiece of the American community even after the
Philippines was granted independence—as long as Taylor was still its owner. Hans Menzi, known tycoon, would buy the Bulletin in 1957 and reorganized it as a
modern Filipino paper.

The Manila Daily Bulletin, in its long career, has changed names many times. It was renamed as Bulletin Today during the Marcos Era, but has since changed back
to Manila Bulletin

In 1920, a most significant step in Philippine newspaper history was made. Up until then, all English newspapers were American or foreign owned. But this was
about to change. Instigated by then Senate President Manuel L. Quezon, the Philippines Herald was made its way to the public. It was set up “by a group of
wealthy Quezon followers…to help the Senate President to counteract the anti-Filipino slant in the foreign-owned press. (Feliciano, 1967)” These very wealthy
followers, to name a few, included Vicente Madrigal, Manuel and Thomas Earnshaw, Ramon Fernandez, Carmen Ayala Roxas, Juan Alegre, and Teodoro Yangco.
There was a need to gather all these millionaires because American businessmen and investors did not embrace the Herald’s pro-Filipino goals, and it was
arguably they who were the ones who traditionally had the money, the capital, to start something as big as this. Obviously, Quezon did not allow this to bog him
down, and thus called on his wealthy companions for help. The Herald bought the Cablenews-American to acquire its equipment, and immediately began.

Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935 – 1944)

Quezon was driven by a specific and passionate cause. Apart from wanting to have his own political platform, he also was in deep want (as were many nationals)
of a platform for Filipino and nationalist sentiment. He also feared the biased reporting of American-inclined papers. Feliciano (1967), further explains Quezon’s
motives:

A U.S. congressional committee has been appointed to look into conditions in the Philippines, and Senate
President Manuel L. Quezon, for all practical purposes the head of a nation in being, thought that the
public ventilation of problems might get a one-sided treatment in the pages of the American-owned
newspapers
The Herald then became known as a pro-Filipino paper that presented nationalistic views. In an American dominated press, this paper allowed for Filipino
sentiments to shine; it was the Filipino voice in a media heavily influenced by American owned newspapers. And the paper, optimistically, heralded the coming
independence.
It should be noted that while the Americans did not fully welcome the Herald, it allowed its continuation. One may be because of its theoretical implementation
of the free market in the Philippines, and two is perhaps because by this time, the mood was friendly between the Philippines and U.S., since both had the same
end, which is to liberate the Philippines. Furthermore, it was a quality paper that was hard not to appreciate. Conrado Benitez became its first editor, and Carlos
P. Romulo one of the early editors.
However, in 1923 the Herald had gone into receivership. Alejandro Roces, Sr. was appointed as receiver and had plans of acquiring the paper. But Vicente
Madrigal, the main benefactor (sometimes even referred to as the owner) of the Herald, recapitalized the paper. It prospered enough to even start the Monday
Mail, a news magazine. Roces was disappointed with this loss, but definitely not deterred. He would, after all, find the first and one of the most successful
newspaper chains in the country.
 V. Philippine Newspaper Chains During the American Occupation

Alejandro Roces, Sr. became the first newspaper chain owner in the Philippines when he established the Taliba-Vanguardia-Tribune or TVT chain. The Taliba
and La Vanguardia, a Filipino and Spanish daily respectively, were bought from Martin Ocampo in 1916, while in 1925 the Roces launched the Tribune, with a
pirated Herald Romulo as its editor-in-chief.

A copy of the Tribune from April 24, 1942

A copy of La Vanguardia circa 1930s
A photo of the arrival of the first commercial flight to the Philippines published in the La Vanguardia on November 30, 1935
 A copy of Taliba from September 22, 1959

The success led many to call TVT not just a newspaper chain, but a newspaper empire.
Its main competitor, El Debate-Mabuhay-Herald-Monday Mail or DMHM was formed around 1933, when Joaquin Elizalde bought the Herald. He acquired
Pagkakaisa, a Tagalog daily, and renamed it Mabuhay, and then bought El Debate, a Spanish-language daily. Though it boasts a respectable roster, it could not
reach TVT’s level of success. Some critics even took the acronym to mean “Dito Muna, Hanggang Meron” to poke fun at the less popular chain.
 VI. Philippine Magazines During the American Occupation

In 1904 the Philippine Magazine was established. It was the first publication to be called a magazine in the Philippines, and according to Maslog (1960), “the first
periodical to carry miscellaneous information.” The publication started as the Philippine Teacher, a semi-government publication for public school teachers but
was renamed Philippine Magazine in 1905 and then became privately owned the next year. In 1929, A.V.H. Hartendrop took over as editor and broadened its
scope. He dedicated the magazine to the cultural development of the Philippines.
The Philippines Free Press was originally founded in 1907 by Judge W.H. Kincaid, as a bi-lingual English and Spanish newspaper. However, the paper proved to be
only of very little success. So in 1908 Robert McCulloch Dick, a former editor at the Manila Times, bought the paper for a peso, and the used up his life savings of
8 000 as operating capital. It was re-released, still as bi-lingual (English and Spanish) publication, but this time as a weekly magazine up until World War II. The
Free Press’s staff and contributors included the likes journalists Teodoro Locsin, Leon Maria Guerrero, and Nick Joaquin. Aside from political commentary, it also
fostered literature through publication of short stories. The paper is also known for its smartly drawn editorial cartoons.
Editorial cartoon on the coming elections, published on May 10, 1919 in the Philippines Free Press
Editorial cartoon showing President Quezon’s support of the woman suffrage movement, published on April 3, 1937 in the Philippines Free Press
A May 1940 Philippine Free Press political cartoon by Esmeraldo Izon illustrates the scores of immigrants that threatened to overwhelm the Philippines’ ability to
absorb them.
(Left) An early copy of the Free Press circa early 1910s, and (right) a later version of the magazine in its prime dated June 1949 with an elderly Emilio Aguinaldo
on the cover
Christmas message from President Manuel Quezon to the Filipinos, published at December 1939 by the Philippines Free Press
A copy dated December 22, 1923. The entries at the left are in English and at the right are its Spanish translations.
The rereleased Free Press was a success as much as its initial run wasn’t. By 1941 it had a circulation of 80, 000 copies a week. Feliciano (1967) said that “Always
lively, critical, and carefully edited, the Free Press is an example of a magazine that has drawn vitality from its staff and its widely spread readers.” And indeed, it
became the most influential English-language weekly.

Another magazine, this time Tagalog, enjoyed much of the same success (perhaps even more) that the Free Press had, and this was the Roces-owned Liwayway.
Liwayway was a Tagalog publication founded in 1923 by Ramon Roces, son of Alejandro Roces Sr., which he co-edited with the novelist Severino Reyes.

Liwayway had a rocky start. It was actually a re-issue of the less popular Photo News, also founded by Roces and co-edited with Reyes. Photo News was written
in trilingual sections—English, Spanish, and Tagalog—was published fortnightly, and contained news, essays, prose, and poetry. Though an ambitious magazine,
it failed to popularize, largely, according to critics, due to its trilingual attempt (Maslog, 1960). For example, customers who wanted to read only the Spanish
section did not see it fit to pay for two other languages. Needless to say, Photo News failed to sell and had to stop publication almost immediately.
After a retreat to Mindanao, Roces returned to Manila to revive the magazine, this time in pure Tagalog. He called it Liwayway as it meant “dawn” and therefore,
a “new beginning.” Roces and Reyes made every effort to ensure that the Liwayway would not suffer the same fate of their ill-fated Photo News. The revamped
magazine was published weekly. It was sold at 12 centavos and had up to 40 pages each (Photo News had only 20 and cost more). The editors added more
pictures and illustrations. It contained local and foreign news and an expanded section of essays, short fiction, and poetry.

Liwayway proved to be a critical success. Even though Liwayway was basically intended as a magazine for the man on the street, its prose and poetry were
considered the best Tagalog literary output of the era. Severino Reyes’ own “Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang” appeared regularly in the magazine much to the
delight of many of its readers. Severino and Roces also recruited the country’s leading literary giants at that time. It had as contributors poets Jose Corazon De
Jesus, Florentino Collantes, Julian Cruz Balmaseda, Cecilio Apostol and writers Lope K. Santos, Rogelio Sicat, Inigo Ed Regalado, Romualdo Ramos, Francisco
Laksamana and Fausto Galaura. Some serialized stories were even published later on as novels. There was also a commendable focus on design, art, and layout.
Liwayway was also to be a commercial success. It gained the support of regular sponsors like Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Chesterfield cigarettes, Zamora’s Tiki-tiki,
Chrysler-Plymouth cars, Esco shoes, Ang Tibay shoes, and Botica Boie products. These advertisements ensured the magazine’s survival in the future.
Due to Liwayway’s success, Roces ventured out to different dialects. He published Bisaya (1932) for the East Visayan region, Hiligaynon (1932) for the West
Visayan region, and Bannawag (1940) for the Ilocano region.
 Apart from these, there were many other notable magazines. The Graphic, founded in 1927, for example, was often pitted against Liwayway as a worthy
opponent. Edited by Vicente Pacis a Tribune editor, the Graphic was known to have a “leisurely and sophisticated tone, and a generally literary character”
(Feliciano, 1967). It also gained popularity because of its pictorial pages and literary sections, a big portion of which was dedicated to Tagalog literature.

There was also the Woman’s Home Journal, founded in 1919 by Paz Marquez-Benitez, the Independent which rivaled the Free Press in its content, and Lamdag
which was a Cebuano weekly magazine than ran in the same vein as the mentioned magazines.
 VII. Philippine Movies During the American Occupation

The Metropolitan Theater circa 1930

As the country was placed under U.S. rule, it enjoyed many of the U.S.’s technological advances in real time. One of the most significant was film and all of the
many equipment that produced it. On January 1, 1897 six movies were exhibited for the first time on a 60-mm Gaumont Chronomatograph projector at the
Salon Pertierra, Escolta. This ushered in what Maslog (1960) calls the Silent Pictures Era of Filipino Film.
The Silent Pictures Era (1897 to 1929)

Three other parts, the first of which was what Maslog calls the Dominance of Documentary, in turn dominated this era. Indeed, American filmmakers went to
the Philippines to shoot local scenes and events such as Eruption of the Taal Volcano in 1911, fiestas at the Obando, or trade at Binondo. Foreign documentaries
were also commonly shown in small parts of the city. Documentaries such as those that narrated the life of Napoleon or the assassination of President McKinley.
These were usually accompanied by an orchestra.

The second part of the Silent Picture Era is the Rise of Feature Films. La Vida de Rizal is the country’s first feature film, directed and produced by the American
Harry Brown, and based on a popular stage play by Edward Meyer Gross. It starred the original saruswela actors, including the playwright’s wife Titay Molina-
Gross, who managed the dramatic troupe from which the stars of this film were from. El Fusilamiento de Rizal was a competing feature film, produced by
another American Albert Yearsley.
Again, the initial development of this kind of media was at first dominated by American and different foreigners. And again, Filipinos would try and change this
by participating more for their voices to be heard.

Jose Nepomuceno

In 1917, brothers Jose and Jesus Nepomuceno sensed this, and thus founded the film company Malayan Movies, which had the self-proclaimed goal of adapting
the current movie industry “to the conditions and tastes of the country.” This was obviously in reaction to foreign movies which were Americanizing Filipino
tastes. With this, in 1919 Jose Nepomuceno produced the first Filipino made film—Dalagang Bukid, another sarsuwela adaptation. Nepomuceno would go on
and produce many films since such as La Venganza de Don Silvestre (1920), Noli Me Tangere (1930), and Makata at Paraluman (1933).
 Dalagang Bukid (1919)

Malayan Movies could be compared to today’s indie film companies in that it wanted to produce as many quality films as possible without pandering to
commercial tastes. It was also similar to them in that in that it didn’t have a very strong budget to support this. To fix this, the Nepomucenos organized
partnerships with other film companies. It established the company Filipino Films with Vicente Salumbides, Frank Harris, Edward Tait—the latter Americans
brought from their home country the necessary and technologically advanced equipment for Malayan to use—and X’Otic Films with Jesus Cacho.
Even early on, Filipino film faced many problems, the first of which was that Filipino capital tended to be small. This obviously affected necessary production
steps and thus, Filipino films compared unfavorably with Hollywood movies.

Another problem, according to Maslog (1960), was that the first movies were based on common plays and hired stage performers, and so the effect was that the
actors had a tendency to “over-act”. Also, the stories were peopled by stereotyped characters, followed the clichéd bida vs. kontrabida, and had convoluted,
formulaic plots and predictable, “correct” endings. Nevertheless, the public was enthralled and film at this point was quickly becoming a Filipino favorite—this
would be further boosted by the next era, which added the elemental sound in films. The films spoke in the vernacular and often depicted regular people (but
played by fantastic stars) as characters, thus securing the fancy of its audience.

Talking Pictures Era (1929 to 1970)

In 1929, George P. Musser produced the first Filipino talking picture, Ang Asuwang, just two years after the first “talkie” or talking picture was shown in the U.S.
And in the following decade, the 1930s, Jose Nepomuceno made the first complete Filipino talking picture, Punyal na Ginto. The film was actually based on
a Liwayway novel by Antonio Sempio, and was produced with help from Harris and Tait (of Filipino Films). They were able to help Nepomuceno bring in
American technicians and sound cameras to the Philippines.

(Left) Makata at Paraluman (1933) (Right) Oriental Blood (1930)

 (Left) Takip-Silim (1939) (Right) Tampuhan (1941)

Giliw Ko (1939)

Just like the previous era, the Talking Pictures Era has its own divisions, the first of which Maslog called the Rise of Commercial Film Companies. Indeed, as many
saw the big business potential of film, it was slowly but surely transformed from a small art form into a big industry with a short span of time. In 1937,
Sampaguita and Excelsoir Pictures were established. In 1938, LVN Pictures, and in 1939 X’otic Films. By 1941, the big companies had their own studio lots and
production facilities.
Another division of this era was the Commercialization of Film, which immediately followed the previous division. This saw the rise of the “star system.” Instead
of hiring actors based on merit, film companies usually chose their actors based on their appeal (charming and glamorous) and looks (most resembled American
actors and were mestizahin). It followed the Hollywood practice of building up stars. These growing film companies tended to focus on marketable faces and
stories, mostly of love. Actors were usually coupled in many films to produce fanfare and a loyal following, such as in the case of Norma Blancaflor and Jaime
Dela Rosa or Rogelio dela Rosa and Rosa del Rosario.

(Left) Norma Blancaflor and Jaime Dela Rosa, (Right) Rogelio dela Rosa and Rosa del Rosario

(Left) Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, (Right) Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant
 Industries produced couples to ellicit fanfare and loyalty; Philippine movies were much like early Hollywood in this way.

The inherited star system

It was also during this period that Philippine film saw the rise of genre movies. Still imitating Hollywood, local movies classed themselves into well-known genres:
Adventure or action, drama or melodrama, musical comedy, comedy, historical film. This allowed for little growth, content and quality wise.
 VIII. Philippine Radio During the American Occupation
In June 1922, the first Philippine radios were set by Henry Hermann. Hermann organized three 50-watt radio stations in Manila and Pasay, after only two years
the first American radios were set up in Pennsylvania. In 1927, J. Amado Araneta bought KZRM (big station) and KZEG (American station). Araneta would also
later own the DMHM newspaper chain, an example of media monopoly and cross ownership trend rising at the time. Both newspaper and radio were managed
under the Far East Broadcasting Company, with Carlos P. Romulo as managing director. In 1929, radio was introduced to the provinces when station KZRC was
set up in Cebu City.

Like film, radio garnered immediate and wide response from the public, largely due to its conversational tone, its entertainment aspect. It was less an
information and news source than it was an entertainment source at the time.
Again, business took this opportunity to exploit the profit side of it. Department stores owned many of the stations to for marketing purposes. It played
commercials that advertised the products sold in their stores, particularly the radios it sold. But many stations too were American-owned, and so while some
stations spoke in the vernacular there were just as much that spoke in English (another reason why the language quickly spread). Also, much like in film, radio
personalities were treated as celebrities and given much attention.

Before WW II there were six commercial stations in the country:

 KZRM
 KZRF
 KZIB
 KZEG
 KZRH
 KZRC
 and one government station KZND which was set up to keep Filipinos posted on war events.

As much as the government saw the largely available and free flowing characteristics of radio as an advantage, it also saw it as a potential threat. In 1931 the
Secretary of Commerce set up the Radio Control Board to implement Radio Control Law. It was the board that legally allocated frequencies, examined
applications, and conducted inspections. This allowed the government to watch over the emerging medium.