BRIDGING THE GAP
Communication facilities in Iloilo, early 20th C.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the City of Iloilo already possessed the required facilities for fast means of communication (El Archipielago Filipino 1900). It had telegraph lines put up in the 1880s by the Spanish government that connected it with the town of Capiz (now Roxas City) in the Province of Capiz and San Jose de Buenavista in Antique. It had a telephone system inaugurated on June 1, 1884 which covered the towns of Iloilo, La Paz, Molo and Mandurriao. This was only four years later than Manila. It was also connected to Manila, and from there to the outside world with the inauguration of a cable line on November 6, 1897. This cable line was laid by the Eastern Extension of Australia and China Telegraph Co. Ltd. under contract with the Spanish government.
Added to its access to telecommunication facilities in maintaining direct communications within the archipelago and the rest of the world, Iloilo's postal services maintained regular flow of communication coming in and going out of the province. An efficient delivery of mail matters facilitated by the improvement in transportation enabled the Ilonggos to sustain personal and business correspondences with family members, friends and business associates, as well as clients not only in the neighboring provinces of the country, but also with those in other parts of the world.
Also of great importance was the fact that Iloilo was also the seat of a number of print media that enabled the people to keep abreast with the latest trends in the socio-economic and political happenings in the province and elsewhere through the active operation and publication of newspapers. The first publication of the print media came out in the town of Iloilo in 1884.
The arrival of the Americans brought with it a considerable improvement in public facilities. Communication facility was one. Through the initiative of John Bordman, an American businessman, the Iloilo Telephone and Telegraph Co. was organized in Iloilo in 1909 in order to improve the telephone system which was inaugurated on June 1, 1894 in the last decade of the Spanish rule. A local battery consisting of 56 telephones was installed by the Bryan-Landon Co. of Iloilo. However, the company soon found itself in the same predicament as that of Cebu because of lack of sufficient capital to support the requirements (David 1937). As the valuable services offered by a telephone and telegraph company had to be kept up in relation to the demand of the growing commerce and industry in the city, a new set of investors took interest in the promising business. J.E.H. Stevenot, backed up by Theodore Vail, Theo V. Halsey and his group, formed the Panay Telephone Co. The new company wanted to modernize the communication system as early as possible (Poblador 1951). The central office was transferred to a building in front of the central market where it remained until a modern structure replaced it in 1935. The maze of open wire in the city, which was one of the eye sores of the place, was completely replaced by new cables and concrete poles. In 1924, reinforced concrete posts with waterproof jacks were erected along the docks to expedite connection with the inter-island steamers which were equipped with marine-type telephones, as well as to provide facilities for the ocean-going vessels calling at the port. Later, a new battery system was also installed on it.
With the company's organization program, long distance or toll service was established between Iloilo and Bacolod on December 18, 1926, when Governor Jose Ledesma of Iloilo and Governor Jose Locsin of Negros held the first official conversation in this new set-up (The Tribune, June 17, 1939). Service between Iloilo and Manila was established on May 2, 1932 when Governor-General Theodore Roosevelt and Hon. Jose Yulo spoke with each other by telephone (Poblador 1951).
In 1928, Stevenot organized the Philippine Long Distance Co. to cover major cities in the country. The franchise was approved on November 28 of that year by Gov. Gen. Henry Stimson and, immediately, the new entity took over the functions of the Panay Telephone Co. (The Tribune, June 17, 1939).
With a view towards taking care of telephone requirements by providing additional facilities and the improvement of service, an extensive construction program included an up-to-date fireproof reinforced concrete building and dome in 1934. Subsequently, improvements were also made in its central office equipment. Cable facilities throughout the city and its suburbs were also extended and the entire cable plant was reconstructed in order to provide for future telephone growth in the City of Iloilo. As a result, the system grew from its modest beginning of 56 telephones in 1909 to 1,240 in 1937 (David 1937).