History
A year after the proclamation of Presidential Decree 1081 or
Martial Law (1973), the Philippine College of Commerce conceived the
Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication (ABMC). It was a degree
program initiated by Mr. Antonio Uy, who was then the Administrative
Assistant to the President of PCC, and Prof. Isabelo T. Crisostomo.
In the mid-70s when development communication was on its peak,
then PCC President Pablo T. Mateo Jr. formed a group of educators to
design a commerce-based AB Development Communication Program.
When PCC was converted into the Polytechnic University of the
Philippines in 1978, a ladderized curriculum was designed by the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).
In 1979, Prof. Samuel Fernandez, Mr. Leonardo Garcia and Mrs.
Norma Martinez designed Bachelor in Business Journalism Curriculum
(BbuJ) under the deanship of FAS Dean Dr. Fe M. Duque. Further
curriculum studies were conducted by the committee composed of Prof.
Segundo Dizon, Prof. Fe Lina M. Salting, Prof. Maria Victoria G. Red
and Film Director Maryo J. Delos Reyes. The said committee proposed
Bachelor in Broadcast Journalism, a separate curriculum program for
Broadcasting.
In the same year, BBRJ was renamed Bachelor in Broadcast
Communication or BBRC when FAS turned into the College of Arts and
Sciences (CAS). Bachelor in Business Journalism became Bachelor in
Journalism or BJ in 1984 during the term of CAS Dean Dr. Zenaida A.
Olonan, who was then the Chair of the Communication Program.
Dr. Nemesio Prudente, upon his assumption to office as the
University President in 1986 implemented the Department of Mass
Communication (DMC) together with the Department of Filipino and
Department of English and Foreign Languages were pulled out from the
College of Arts and Sciences. The three departments were housed in a
separate College after the PUP Board of Regents approved the
creation of the College of Languages and Mass Communication or CLMC
in 1987. Dr. Rustica C. Carpio became the first Chairperson of DMC.
She also initiated the revision of the DMC Curriculum program.
In 1988, Dr. Carpio proposed the establishment of the National
Mass Communication Center and spearheaded the conversion of DMC to
an Institute of Mass Communication. Dr. Carpio’s position paper was
submitted to then Senator Orlando Mercado and the latter authored
Senate Bill Number 583 or “An Act Creating the Mass Communication
Center of the Philippines.”
Dr. Carpio was designated as the first Dean of the CMLC and
concurrently served as DMC Chairperson in 1989. She likewise started
Master in Mass Communication program in the PUP Graduate School and
became the Program Chair for a decade. She also instituted the
Non-Traditional Study Program of the DMC.
Prof. Ma. Victoria G. Red became Dr. Carpio’s successor as Chair
of the DMC in May, 1991. After a year, Dr. Leonida N. Tuazon was
designated as the third DMC Chair under the deanship of Dr. Wilfredo
L. Alberca. Chair Tuazon created the curriculum enhancement
committee to review the DMC Curriculum.
On April 25, 1991, Senate Bill No. 583 was changed into
Senate Bill No. 1791 by the Senate Committee on Public Information
and Mass Media chaired by then Senator Agapito Aquino. Without
amendment, with Senator Mercado as author, SB 1971 was approved.
Thus, an edifice was put up at the NDC Compound along Anonas St.,
Sta. Mesa, Manila to serve as the Mass Communication Center which is
also attached to PUP for administrative purposes.
In October, 1993, the Department moved to its new home, the Mass
Communication Center. It was inaugurated and blessed on December 13,
1993 with the then PUP President Dr. Zenaida A. Olonan leading the
University officials.
The First Level Accreditation Status was achieved by the Bachelor
in Broadcast Communication and Bachelor in Journalism programs as
recommended by the Accrediting Agency for Chartered Colleges and
Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP) during the second term of
Prof. Ma. Victoria G. Red as Chair in 1996. In the same year, the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recognized the PUP Department
of Mass Communication as Center of Excellence in the discipline of
communication for Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and
Accreditation Program or ETEEAP.
PUP-DMC created various affiliations with other communication
agencies and organizations. Two training institutes were launched in
1996 through the collaborated efforts of PUP, International
Organizations of Journalists (IOJ), National Union of Journalists in
the Philippines (NUJP) and International Institute of Journalism –
Berlin (IIJB). The said training institutes were the Willie Vicoy
Institute of Photojournalism for Asia (VIPA) and Asian Center for
Broadcast Journalism (ACBJ). PUP – CLMC hosted the training while
NUJP and IIB provided the professional and technical expertise, and
the IOJ supported the training program through its equipment and
other resources.
In November, 1997, Prof. Ma. Lourdes DP Garcia was appointed as
the fourth Chairperson of the Department of Mass Communication while
Prof. Wlihelmina N. Cayanan was designated as the CLMC Dean in 1998.
Through the initiative of Prof. Jose Reuben Q. Alagaran II,
faculty of DMC and president of the Faculty Club, the PUP Open
University offered Bachelor in Broadcast Communication and Master in
Mass Communication in partnership with the Philippine Information
Agency (PIA) and Public Relations Organization of the Philippines
(PROP). Prof. Alagaran was appointed as the Chairperson for both
programs in the PUP-OU System.
In May, 1999, Dr. Divina Pasumbal became the successor of Dr.
Carpio as Chair of the Master in Communication Program of the PUP
Graduate School.
The turn of the century ushered in significant changes and
development in the history of the Department of Mass Communication.
DMC Chairperson Maria Lourdes DP Garcia revived the proposed
conversion of DMC into an Institute of Mass Communication. Then PUP
President Ofelia M. Carague instructed the Vice President for
Academic Affairs Samuel M. Salvador to create a committee. Thus, in
October 1999, a working committee was commissioned to develop a
proposal. The Committee was composed of CLMC Dean Wilhelmina Cayanan
as Chair, Prof. Maria Lourdes DP Garcia and Dr. Divina T. Pasumbal
as co- chairs, with Prof. Ma. Victoria Red and Prof. Joey Alagaran
as members. Dr. Rustica Carpio, who is the original proponent, was
also involved in the preparation of the position paper for the
separation of DMC from CLMC.
After a month, in November, 1999, the BBRC and BJ programs were
granted the Level II Status by the AACCUP. With its performance,
AACCUP strongly recommended the conversion of DMC not into an
Institute but into a College of Mass Communication. Consequently,
the proposed separation of the Department from CLMC was pushed
through and submitted to the PUP Administration. During the process
of the Administrator’s study on the proposal, Dr. Robert F. Soriano
was designated as Chairperson of the Department in November 2000.
It was in May 2001 when the Department of Mass Communication
realized its dream to stand as a College. The PUP Board of Regents
approved the separation of DMC from CLMC and the College of
Communication was born. Dr. Divina Pasumbal became the first Dean of
the College with Dr. Maria Lourdes DP Garcia as Chairperson of the
Department of Broadcast Communication and Dr. Robert Soriano as
Chairperson of the Department of Journalism.
Thereafter, the College continued to grow and soar high as it
earned significant achievements and recognition inside and outside
the University. It has undergone challenges and changes in the
succession of its administrators.
| Year |
Dean |
Chairpersons |
2001
|
Dr. Divina T. Pasumbal
|
Dr. Maria Lourdes DP Garcia
Department of Broadcast Communication (DBC)
Dr. Robert F. Soriano
Department of Journalism (DOJ)
|
2002
|
Dr. Divina T. Pasumbal
|
Dr. Maria Lourdes DP Garcia
DBC
Dr. Divina T. Pasumbal
concurrent Chair, DOJ
|
2003
|
Dr. Divina T. Pasumbal
|
Dr. Maria Lourdes D.P. Garcia
DBC
Prof. Filemon V. Viduya
DOJ
|
2004 to 2005
|
Dr. Maria Lourdes D.P. Garcia
|
Prof. Edna T. Bernabe
DBC
Prof. Filemon V. Viduya
DOJ
|
2006
|
Dr. Robert F. Soriano
|
Prof. Edna T. Bernabe
DBC
Prof. Angelina E. Borican
DOJ
|
2007
|
Dr. Robert F. Soriano |
Prof. Felix Cabahug
DOJ
Prof. Victoria G. Red
DBC
|
2008
|
Dr. Robert F. Soriano
|
Prof. Edna T. Bernabe
DBC
Prof. Felix Cabahug
DOJ
|
2009
|
Dr. Robert F. Soriano |
Prof. Edna T. Bernabe
DBC
Prof. Cherry C. Pebre
Officer-in-Charge, DOJ
|
2010
|
Dr. Angelina E. Borican |
Prof. Cherry C. Pebre
Acting Chair, DOJ |
2011
|
Dr. Angelina E. Borican |
Prof. Cherry C. Pebre
Acting Chair, DOJ
Dr. Anna Ruby P. Gapasin
DBC |
|
2012 |
Dr. Edna T. Bernabe |
Racidon P. Bernarte, MA Communication (Communication Research)
Chairperson,
Department of Communication Research and
Department of Broadcast Communication
Cherry C. Pebre, MC
Chairperson,
Department of Journalism |
In 2006, the College grew with the introduction of a third
program – Bachelor in Communication Research. With the offering
of this program, PUP COC became the second communication school
to have offered the BCR program.
In March 2008, COC gained the distinction of being one of the
first Colleges in the University to have achieved Level 3
Accreditation Status for its two programs – BBRC and BJ. It was
through the collective efforts of the faculty members and students,
and the leadership of the administrators that the College surpassed
this challenge.
Today, the College of Communication continues to mirror the
“Total University” vision towards competence and excellence. Being
one of the biggest communication schools in the Philippines, COC
upholds its commitment in providing quality communication education
to a great number of economically-challenged Filipinos.