Ludovico Arroyo Bañas (1901-1979)

Ludovico Arroyo Bañas (16 February 1901 – 29 July 1979) was one of the pioneers in the history of Telecommunications in the Philippines who, through his professional specialization and expertise, made an important contribution in the liberation of the Philippines during the World War II, in the field of communications.

Service in the Bureau of Telecommunications in the Philippines
During the American Regime, Ludovico Arroyo Bañas was chosen as one of the ten personnel of the American government telegraph service in the Philippines to compose the first and only group of Filipino pensionados who, in 1919, underwent advanced training in wireless telegraphy (radio), at the US Naval Radio School in Cavite. The training of the ten Filipinos was made possible through a special arrangement between the US Naval authorities in the Philippines and the Insular Government. To select the trainees, a special examination was conducted among the 398 students of the Post-Telegraph School.

After the training, Bañas was appointed to the office of Assistant Radio Inspector and Radio Superintendent in Manila, until the World War II broke out in 1942.

After serving the United States of Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) during the war, Bañas left the military service with the rank of Second Lieutenant, and went back to Telecommunications Bureau (this time under the Philippine Republic). Later, he became the Regional Superintendent of the Bureau of Telecommunications (BUTEL) in Region IV (Panay, Negros, Romblon, and Palawan), until the time of his retirement during the late 1950s. He died in 1979.

Military Service during the World War II
At the beginning of the War (on 10 October 1941 ), Ludovico Arroyo Bañas was drafted in the Civilian Employee Warning Service of the United States of America (Iloilo City Station), under the command of Major Campbell. This task was short-lived for on 2 January 1942, he was inducted to the USAFFE, in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo by Lt. Col Crispen Gorriceta. From 4 January to 16 April 1942, he was assigned to the 61st Signal Company of the of the 6th Military District of the USAFFE's Philippine Army stationed in Sta. Barbara. Lt. Col Amos Francia, who was in command of the unit, disbanded his men on 17 April of that same year. That forced Bañas to go home to Banate, Iloilo, where he farmed his land. Ludovico Arroyo Bañas with the family of his wife Carmen Jalandoni Jover during a clan gathering sometime in 1950s. Ludovico is behind his wife Carmen (standing, fourth from the left), while Iloilo City Mayor Dominador Jalandoni Jover (also standing) could be found fourth from the right.

Lack of equipment, difficult terrain and undeveloped infrastructure made coordination of the groups of disbanded USAFFE forces nearly impossible, and for several months in 1942 all contact with Philippine resistance forces was lost. Communications were restored in November 1942 when the reformed Philippine 61st Infantry Division (Philippine Commonwealth) in Panay island, led by Colonel Macario Peralta, was reorganized.

Upon the reorganization of the 6th Military District in Panay, Ludovico Arroyo Bañas again joined the defense of his Country, and worked with Capt. Eliseo Espia in the 61st Signal Company of this Military Division (stationed in Passi, Iloilo), on the 5th of that month. Later, he was sent to the 64th Signal Company of the same Military District, under the Command of Lt. Col. Cesar Hechanova, where he served until the end of the war.

2Lt Ludovico Arroyo Bañas made an important contribution to the US and Filipino forces during the war, in the field of communication. He was responsible in successfully making the first radio contact with the US War Department through the USAFFE command in Australia, months after the United States Armed Forces was disbanded in the Philippines. This first radio contact affirmed the continuous existence of Filipino resistance forces against the Japanese, thereby providing the joint and combined U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth military forces important data for the liberation of the Philippines. This enabled the forwarding of intelligence regarding Japanese forces in the Philippines to SWPA command, as well as the consolidating the once sporadic guerrilla activities, thereby allowing the guerrillas to help in the war effort.

Family and Marriage
Ludovico was one of the three sons of Celestino Barboza Bañas and Francisca Arroyo, both were native and residents of Banate, Iloilo, Philippines. His siblings were Martin and Maximo. He was married to Carmen Jalandoni Jover - sister of Dominador Jalandoni Jover, who was Mayor of Iloilo City. The couple had seven daughters (Thelma, Alsina, Maja, Emma, Manajama, Nancy, and Francily) and a son (Richard).