Living in History; The Feat that marks our Identity

Now there’s another reason for you to walk with pride.

Everyone was scampering in the corridors. Shackled by the belief that this might be the start of something to be celebrated or a sudden truth that will be punctuated, the reality gradually pronounces itself.  News was gathered and all the gossips had subsided. By the virtue of Resolution No. 157-2013, the goal that seemed to be the steepest have been scaled. The Department of Journalism bannered the conquest, plunging its name to a higher pedigree that is rare for other universities to earn. From now on, Center of Development trails our maiden institution.

The Commission on Higher Education granted the COD on February 25, 2013 in a memorandum issued in accordance to the Republic Act No. 7722, or otherwise known as the “Higher Education Act of 1994”. Patiently waiting for the verdict of CHED within months of deliberation and thorough analysis of the committee, the faculty, spearheaded by the Dept. of Journalism Chairperson, Prof. Cherry Pebre, the Dean of the College of Communication, Dr. Edna Bernabe and the students persistently anticipated the judgment. Though nervous in an anxious way, the eagerness in achieving the recognition seizes every heart that pounds.

It was crucial to prepare for COD. Gaining that high-octane acknowledgement need a pumping, fuel-ignited effort. Days, weeks and months plunder the calendar of grounding all the requirements. But, as time consumes the works, enthusiasm covers our exhausted body. And with competent credentials, our shot would not be thrown to the trash.

Department of Journalism is loaded with quality and efficient attributes. The faculty has an exceptional frontrunners and teaching capabilities that can’t be purchased. All members of the league are holders of relevant master’s degree and at least 50% of them are owners of doctorate diplomas. Experience is not an issue within the team, as the entire core is possessor of at least 10 years or more related work practices. International, regional and national scholarships also endow the names of 30% of the faculty. We are privileged to have the digital newsroom, computer laboratory and library as part of the department’s commitment in innovative learning. Maybe, as CHED stared on these details, they never blinked.

Other than the recognition, the focal point of the COD is its benefit. We are blessed that as the recipient of the award, financial assistance which is aimed for the improvement of the program, particularly cutting edge technology for journalism, will be vested in our legacy. Flanking with the University of Santo Tomas as the other beneficiary of the COD, and University of the Philippines, the Center for Excellence receiver, PUP-COC, particularly our department, will be in the limelight of development.

This is not the end of our journey in reaching further goals; it is just the start of attaining more poles of success. That honor is just a tool to dig our feet deeper, to burn our souls together. It is not just a decoration that will be crated in a stagnant frame; it is a symbol of stepping forward. We are lucky. We study in the cradle of best of the masses, the PUP. We chose the land of the champions, the College of Communication. And certainly, our footprints will be bigger, as we walk from the Center of Development, the Department of Journalism.

CHED'S Memorandum of the Center of Excellence and the Centers of Development for the Journalism Program

- Ramon Rafael Bonilla, Editor-in-Chief