Brief History of Philippine Radio

Early Radio under the American Colonial Rule

Radio in the Philippines was started out as a commercial enterprise
pioneered by American businessmen as a way to further introduce American
goods to Filipino audiences. This, together with the American-style
commentary and music that was broadcast by these foreign media men, also
contributed to the prolific spread of American culture among the Filipinos.
Most early radio announcers and talents were American, or Filipinos that
have near indistinguishable accents and mannerisms.
Henry Herman is credited as being the first to conduct a commercial
radio broadcast in the Philippines using a 50-watt station based in Pasay,
Manila and a mobile station in 1992. Two years later, the three experimental
stations were replaced by a single 100-watt station with the call letters KZKZ
in Pasay.
Another notable station at the time was KZRM of the Radio Corporation
of the Philippines (RCP), with the RM standing for Radio Manila. The RCP was
the first to broadcast outside of Manila by putting up KZRC in Cebu in 1929.
The RCP sold both stations to a broadcasting company owned by J. Amado
Araneta, who already owned a significant newspaper conglomerate. These
stations invested in shortwave transmitters that allowed Philippine radio to
have an international audience.
As radio sets became more accessible, advertisers began using radio
to reach broad audiences that newspapers wouldnt be able to reach, and
would often sponsor radio programs. Stations would sell airtime to
advertisers in 15-minute blocks, who filled the time with their own programs
or resold their blocks to other advertisers.
In 1931, the colonial government created the Radio Control Law,
setting up the Radio Control Board which issued licenses, frequencies and
conducted inspections. The national Radio Broadcasting fund was also set
up, which financed government radio programs and provided sets for
government offices and remote communities through the license fees
collected from set owners.
Wartime Radio
With radios ability to deliver news much faster than the broadsheets
to a wider audience, radio became a powerful propagandistic tool. KZND (for
National Defense) was set up by the colonial government was used to update
listeners on the war effort. The United States Armed Forces in the far East
(USAFFE) set up a make-shift station in Corregidor called the Voice of

Freedom as they retreated from the Japanese forces marching towards

Manila.
As the Japanese took over Manila, they set up the station PIAM, which
stood for Philippine Islands A Manila. Programing usually consisted of Filipino
and Japanese music and language lessons, as well as a calisthenics program
called Radio Tasio.
Meanwhile, Voice of Freedom was used by the resistance to counter the
Japanese-controlled broadcasts in Manila, delivering news of the war that
was censored in Japanese broadcasts. The news was delivered in English by
Reserve major Carlos P. Romulo, followed by the Tagalog translation delivered
by Lieutenant Francisco Isidoro. Another station, the Voice of Juan dela Cruz,
was a portable station operated within Manila by a group led by Carlos
Malonzo and his wife, Violet Brown until they were captured by the Japanese
in 1942.
Postwar and Commonwealth Radio
Upon the liberation of Manila, the Voice of Freedom was overturned to
the Philippine commonwealth government, with the new call letters KZFM. In
1947, the newly-independent Philippine republic sent a delegation to the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to request for new call letters
for the country. The ITU assigned the call letter D, which until then was used
by Germany.
Soon, commercial radio once again became a booming industry. The
first station to open after the war was DZRH under the Manila Broadcasting
Company (MBC) y the brothers J.M. and Manuel Elizalde. Radio expansion
also spread to outside of Manila, with the MBC-affiliate Cebu Broadcasting
Company opening DYRC and DYBU. Meanwhile, the Radio Mindanao Network
(RMN) opened DXCC in Cagayan de Oro.
Universities and church groups also found their place in radio. The
University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network (UMBN) was the first Muslim
station with DXMV in Cotabato city and the DZPI under the Far Eastern
Broadcasting Company, a protestant missionary group that first introduced
evangelical radio. The University of Santo Tomas opened DZST in 1950, but
eventually turned it over to the Catholic church which renamed it DZRV (for
Radio Veritas.). In 1958, the University of the Philippines opened DZUP.
The government, meanwhile also went on to develop the Philippine
Broadcasting Service (PBS), with DZFM as its first station.
Programming during this time evolved from the pre-war practice of live
performances to recorded music, and DJs replaced the old emcees and

engaged listeners in personality-platter shows. Radio dramas also replaced

the short comic skits of before, pioneered by Lina Flors Gulong ng Palad.
News coverage was also much more popularized in radio, with ABS-CBNs
DZAQ Radayo Patrol being the first 240hour radio news station, followed by
their rival, the DZHP Vigilantes.

Under Martial Law

In 1972, as part of the newly-declared Martial Law, control of all
communications media was handed over to the Press Secretary and the
Secretary of National Defense, under the guise curbing insurgent influences.
The media was then effectively controlled by Marcos and his cronies, with
stations owned by his political rivals being shut down. In 1973, the
Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) was created as a selfregulatory body by broadcasters, but were actually under the thumb of the
Broadcast Media Council (BMC). A positive effect, however, of this tight
control over radio was the Filipinization of the industry. Foreigners were
banned from owning and operating media, and stations were made to play
Original Pilipino Music over the western musicthat dominated radio years
before. The BMC also limited advertising blocks to 13-minute segments as a
way to curb the rampant commercialization of the medium. The quality of
radio dramas improved, as scriptwriters were forced to submit their scripts
for government approval, instead of writing them last-minute.
However, censorship was rampant and Marcos did not hesitate in using
coercion and brute force in beating down those who express any dissent with
his administration. One of Marcos most influential critic is the Catholic radio
station, DZRV. They were the only radio station to provide a real-time report
of Aquinos assassination, and was instrumental in aiding and reporting the
People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos. They kept listeners outside of
Manila informed of the developments in Manila, reported the government
troop movements for the benefit of the protesters, urged more people to
take part in the rally, and persuaded military officials to turn their backs
against Marcos.
Post-Martial law and Contemporary Radio
After Martial law, radio once again enjoyed the freedom and variety it
once had. Radio is once again protected under the constitution as part of the
citizens right to freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. The
KBP remained, and became a truly self-regulatory organization guided by a
code of ethics. Commercialism is still rampant among stations, as advertising
is still the number one way of financing the station. New technologies
allowed for greater access to radio, with streaming services and listeners

being able to engage with the stations more via landlines, mobile phones
and the internet.