ONE of the most fascinating episodes in the history of journalism in the Philippines is the publication of Libertas (“Freedom” in Latin), a daily newspaper that came off the presses of the University of Sto. Tomás (UST). At the end of 1898, after the defeat of the Spaniards, many friars decided to leave the archipelago as they felt unwelcome (many of their colleagues had died during the revolution). However, a big chunk felt committed to the Filipino people until the end. As Fr. Valentín Marín y Morales, a Dominican professor at the University of Sto. Tomas argued, they were not in the Philippines to defend the Spanish flag but to spread and consolidate the Catholic faith. This sentiment was shared by many friars, such as Father Ulpiano Herrero, another Dominican professor of UST, who, writing about the events of the revolution, said they were not afraid of the new United States (US) government. The Filipinos’ desire for independence was completely understandable, they argued, but they could not allow Protestantism or any other faith to set foot in the archipelago. They feared that the cultural Americanization might weaken the Filipinos’ faith.
Needless to say, as soon as the Americans arrived, they initiated an aggressive anti-friar propaganda with the purpose of diminishing the influence the clergy might have over the Filipino people. In order to counter this, the general vicar of the Dominican order, Santiago Payá, ordered Fr. Marín y Morales the urgent foundation of a daily newspaper in order to inform the Filipino people about local and international news with a strong Catholic approach. The first issue appeared on July 7, 1899, and a Catholic Filipino journalist was posted as the director, Manuel Rávago (1870 to 1937), a very fine writer from Cagayán de Oro.
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