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Senator Imee Marcos is under fire over her remark that Development Communication (DevCom) is “cute,” “archaic,” and “old-fashioned.”
During the Senate hearing on the proposed budget of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and attached agencies for 2021 on Tuesday, October 13, Marcos asked Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Director General Ramon Cualoping about the agency’s DevCom program.
“DevCom, even as a subject taught in universities, has been largely debunked. Hindi na siya uso eh. Wala na ngang course ‘yan sa iba’t ibang eskwelahan (It’s no longer trendy. It is not even being taught in different schools),” Marcos said.
Cualoping explained that the role of DevCom is engaging with the people on the ground. “Bigger picture, PCOO is an end-to-end institution so PIA is tasked to go down to the barangay level and talk to individuals,” he added.
“I really would like to understand the nitty gritty of this Development Communication program because it is so old-fashioned. It is sort of cute and archaic,” an unconvinced Marcos said.
Cualoping said DevCom is “very relevant especially in this time and age where communication is democratized because of the internet where everyone is empowered to create their own content.”
“The goal is to develop the grassroots customized communication per area,” he added.
DevCom is ‘relevant’
In a statement on Wednesday, the University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Development Communication (UPLB-CDC) – where the field of study originated – schooled Marcos about DevCom as a field of study, saying it remained relevant as long as “there are social issues to be addressed.”
The UPLB-CDC went on to explain 3 points regarding the relevance of DevCom in this time and age.
“First, DevCom has a long and established history, which is recognized by thought leaders around the world. Second, DevCom is a vibrant academic program being offered by numerous local and international academic institutions. And third, driving positive social change through communication has always been at the heart of DevCom,” it added.
Meanwhile, the UPLB-CDC Student Council did not mince words against Marcos saying that “it is politicians like Imee Marcos and her family, especially her corrupt parents, who have made DevCom relevant then and now.”
“We hope that Senator Marcos would remember the atrocities during the time of her father’s Martial Law and dictatorship, which Amnesty International had reported to have imprisoned 70,000, tortured 34,000, and killed 3,240,” the group said.
Several netizens also took a swipe at Marcos, whose claim as a UP alumna is in question, saying that she could not even prove that she graduated from UP.
A Rappler fact-check had found that there are no records of Marcos graduating from UP Diliman, but the senator had posted photos of her alleged graduation rites on social media. (FALSE: Imee Marcos ‘graduated cum laude from UP College of Law’) – Rappler.com
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