The University of the Philippines has held the first in a series of events commemorating 100 years of broadcasting in the country.

The inaugural event included a webinar and a documentary telling the story of the emergence of Philippine radio during American colonial days, ABS-CBN reports.

The documentary asserts how broadcasting was first used as a colonial apparatus but later adopted for local purposes, with Tagalog and other Philippine languages taking centre stage.

An American woman named Mrs Redgrave is said to have conducted the first radio broadcast in the Philippines, using a five-watt transmitter for a test broadcast from Camp Nichols, a US military airfield south of Manila.

Little is known of her – a fire in 1973 destroyed many records from the period – but it’s thought she may have been the wife of a US naval officer.

The first radio station in the country, KZKZ, was established in 1924 by Henry Herman, a former American soldier.

The University of the Philippines will hold more events marking the anniversary over the next few months, leading up to a national academic conference in October.