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 the Philippine College of Commerce was converted into the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in 1978, a curriculum was designed by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) which was called AB Development Communication.
In 1979, Prof. Samuel Fernandez, Mr. Leonardo Garcia and Mrs. Norma Martinez designed the Bachelor in Business Journalism Curriculum (BbuJ) under the 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 committee proposed the establishment of a Bachelor in Broadcast Journalism, a separate curriculum program for Broadcasting.
Within the same year, BBRJ was renamed Bachelor in Broadcast Communication or BBRC and 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. The 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 forged various affiliations with other communication agencies and organizations. Two training institutes were launched in 1996 through the collaborative 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 IIJB provided the professional and technical expertise, and the IOJ supported the training program through its equipment and other resources.
In November 1997, Prof. Maria Lourdes DP Garcia was appointed as the fourth Chairperson of the Department of Mass Communication while Prof. Wihelmina 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 T. 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. RusticaCarpio, 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 become a College. The PUP Board of Regents approved the separation of DMC from CLMC and the College of Communication was born. Dr. Divina T. Pasumbal became the first Dean of the College of Communication 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. In 2006, the College grew with the introduction of a third program – Bachelor in Communication Research (BCR). With the offering of this program, the 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 and studentry, and the leadership of the administration that the College surpassed the challenge.
Only recently did the College of Communication brave the gauntlet when it submitted its Bachelor of Arts in Journalism program to the CHED award for Center of Development in Journalism, on its visit last September 5, 2012.
Today, the College of Communication continues to mirror the vision towards academic competence and excellence. The inclusion of the Bachelor in Advertising and Public Relations Program in the college is a true manifestation that this community is set to create a trend in communication education at par with international standards. Being one of the biggest communication schools in the Philippines, the COC upholds its commitment to provide quality communication education to a great number of economically-challenged but deserving and talented Filipino youths.
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