Anything Under the Sun
Ancient mass media
Congratulations to Dr. and Mrs. Rogelio A. Florete on their 40th Wedding Anniversary!
On this occasion very memorable to this couple, it is interesting to dwell on the development of mass media in Iloilo considering that Dr. Florete heads the largest broadcasting network in the whole Philippines with around 50 radio stations all over the country from northern Luzon to southern Mindanao.
The ancient Malay datus of Panay gather together their barangay followers by calling them thru the following:
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Agong or gimba -- a big drum of animal skin struck by a twig or bamboo stick.
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Budyong -- a horn made of a carabao horn or a big sea shell.
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Toltogan -- a bamboo tube struck by a twig or stick.
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Tala-tala -- a big bamboo clapper still being used in some towns during the Holy Thursday and Good Friday processions to control the movement of the people.
These instruments produced loud sounds heard for far distances. In these gatherings new, new ordinances, and other important information were announced to the community by the datu.
When the Spaniards arrived, they introduced the bando to announce the new ordinances passed by the government as well as other news which concerned the pueblo (town).
The bandolero (town crier) went around the principal streets of the town shouting the new ordinance preceded by a tambolero (drummer) and escorted by a guardia civil. The drum usually used was the snare drum (tambor) or bass drum (bombo).
It was only during the last decades of the Spanish regime when the newspapers were published in Iloilo by the Spaniards. The first was the tri-weekly El Porvenir de Bisayas published in 1885 by Diego Jimenez Frades which attacked Spanish personalities.
To counter this, the Spanish colonial government supported the El Eco de Panay put up in 1887 by Don Francisco Gutierrez Creps, a supernumerary of the Cuerpo de Monte (Mountain Rangers), a unit of the Spanish military.
The Porvernir-Eco fight was just an extension of the fight between the insulares (Spaniards born in the colonies) and the peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain). Jimenez was born in Andalucia, Spain while most of the Spanish officials were born in Mexico.
The third newspaper was the Anunciador Ilongo published by Pineda Hermanos in 1889. However, it was more of an advertisement arm of the businesses of the publisher.
In 1890, the first newspaper published by an Ilonggo hit the streets. It was El Heraldo edited by Matias Hilado which toed the Spanish colonial government.