Television in the Philippines was introduced in October 1953 upon the first commercial broadcast made by Alto Broadcasting System (now ABS-CBN), making the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country and the second in Asia to do so. Even before that, during the late 1940s, a number of academic experiments had been done and replicated by Filipino engineers and students. From 1975 to 1978, the Sinag Awards were given by the Philippine Academy for Television Arts and Sciences (PATAS). The Star Awards for Television are the oldest existing television awards in the country; they are handed out annually by the Philippine Movie Press Club and are voted by the press. The Philippines has no public broadcasting television network. History The early years (1946–1959) James Lindenberg, an American engineer dubbed the "father of Philippine television," began assembling transmitters and established Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC) on June 13, 1946. The company was named after his wife's hometown of Bolinao, Pangasinan. Three years later, he was the first to apply for a license in Philippine Congress to establish a television station. After a year, on June 14, 1950, his request was granted. Due to the scarcity of raw materials and strict import control since 1948, he was compelled to branch into radio broadcasting instead. Lindenberg's attempt to put up a television station did not go to waste. Judge Antonio Quirino, the brother of then-Philippine President Elpidio Quirino, had been trying to get a license from Congress that would allow him to put up a television station. The Congress, however, denied him from getting such license for the fear that he might use it as vehicles for propaganda for his brother who was then running for a second term in the presidential elections of 1953. Because of this, he bought a 70% share in BEC, which earned him to indirect control a television franchise. He changed the name of BEC to Alto Broadcasting System (ABS), after the names of its new owners, Aleli and Judge Antonio Quirino. Lindenberg continued to be a co-owner and served as the general manager. Before the television station was formally launched, it faced several obstacles. The Central Bank, for instance, refused to grant Quirino dollar credit from the bank, saying that the said venture was too risky. For this reason, Quirino asked help from his friend Marvin Gray, whose family was a friend of David Sarnoff, then president of Radio