Published February 1, 2021, 11:57 PM
The Manila Bulletin observes its 121
st anniversary today. Its first issue came out on February 2, 1900, one of a number of newspapers set up at the start of the American occupation in 1899 that followed 350 years of the Spanish colonial era.
The newspapers organized at the start of the American era were in the great tradition of American press freedom, but Filipino publications date much earlier in the country’s history. La Solidaridad, which carried articles by young Filipino students in Europe Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Jose Rizal called for equal rights for Filipinos and Spaniards. These three went on to call for Philippine independence after the Philippine Revolution of 1898.