Editorial as the ‘heavy artillery’

• It is a battlefield of opinions, views and perspectives among writers and columnists.

• Views and opinions compete for the attention of the readers
• FOCAL POINTS.
• The goals of editorial are:
• …to drive home a point
• …to influence public opinion
• …to enlighten people

HOW DO WE START?
 Choose a topic. You can choose to tackle any of the issues, events, faces appearing in the news but try as much
as possible to make the editorial acquire the following values:
 Current and timely
 Substantial for writing
 passing on moral judgment
• Obtain background material and information about your topic. Observe, read, interview, research.

FIRST STOP: PLANNING STAGE.

 Identify your purpose and audience – inform, interpret, criticize, argue, suggest reforms, urge readers to action.
 Explain or interpret the way the newspaper covered a sensitive or controversial subject
 Criticize constructive actions, decisions or situations to get readers to see the problem.
 Praise to commend people or organizations for a job well done
 Persuade to get readers immediately see the solution and not the problem

  Organize Information – briefly outline

your facts logically before writing the piece.
  Choose details
 Order details according to importance

FOCUS ON A CENTRAL THEME
 The single greatest error made by beginning writers is trying to say too much.
 The error comes from the belief that, in order to be convincing, an argument must be utterly
comprehensive, addressing every possible issue that relates to it.
 However, no argument is effective unless it can be absorbed ands remembered by the reader.
 An effective editorial must be essentialized.

SECOND STOP: WORKING ON THE TITLE

 The title of an editorial article is mostly composed of only three words.
 The title is a label head.
 Example: Walang linaw Usad pagong
Petal attraction Election blues
NOTE: The title must be striking to attract attention

THIRD STOP: STRUCTURING THE EDITORIAL

• Introduction
- news peg (Hook, opinion, position)
• Body
- claims fully supported by facts/stats/references
• Conclusion
- recommended solution
In t r o :
- call for action P r esen t th e
p r o b lem o r
situ a tio n .
THE HUMAN STRUCTURE approach.
(Head, Neck, Body, Arms and Legs) T a k e a sta n d !
O p p o sin g v iew p o in ts a r e r eb u tted .

Reason #1 for position

It’s not over E v id en c e fo r a ll 3 p o in ts.

Reason #2 for position

A Kuwaiti court has handed out the death

penalty to the employers of Joanna Demafelis, the
Reason #3 for position
overseas worker whose body was found stuffed in a
freezer in February. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the
sentence shows the sincerity and good faith of the Kuwaiti Present Recap
a logical thestaff
government. (head - situation) solution. stance.

It appears justice has been served. (neck-stand)

Demafelis’ death and its ignominy shocked a nation that was no stranger to the risks that workers face in foreign
lands. Demafelis’ story was common indeed—she made the trip to act as breadwinner for her family. The manner, in
which she was killed, however, was revolting. The operative word is “appears.” Beneath the surface, many issues remain
unresolved. (ARM/S - (Situation elabrated in realtion to the stand)
 Foremost, the employers—Lebanese Nader Essam Assaf and his Syrian wife Mouna Hassoun— were tried in
absentia. The two fled Kuwait City and were arrested in Damascus. The husband has been turned over to Lebanese
authorities where he reportedly confessed to the killing. The wife remains in Syria. It is not known whether, when or how
they would be made to face the consequences of their action— in Kuwait or anywhere else. (BODY-claim/ argument #1)

Here at home, Demafelis’ recruiter, the owner of the our Lady of Mount Carmel Global Solutions, remains in
hiding. Again the story is common—unscrupulous recruiters only concern themselves with making the fees without
ascertaining the actual risks they put the workers in. Sometimes, the effects are economic. In other cases, like Demafelis’,
lives are lost. (Body-claim argument #2)

Administration officials are also still weighing whether the total ban on the deployment of workers to Kuwait
should be lifted after the Kuwaiti court’s show of good faith. The ban occasioned mixed reactions from the public: Some
said it was an impractical, sweeping solution to a particular case —Kuwait is a destination to more than a quarter of a
million workers—while others agreed it was a proportionate reaction to a grievous crime. (Body-claim argument #3)

Finally, whatever the fate of the suspects, the case just goes to show the extent of the dangers faced by Filipinos
who venture into other countries because of lack of opportunities in their home country. (Body-claim argument #4)

The sooner we stop regarding our workers as “prime exports” and work instead to provide them with sustainable
jobs they can keep while living with their families, the better it will be. The choice to live abroad should be made out of
one’s free will, not out of necessity. LEG (Recap of stance/ main points)

Demafelis’ case is not the first heartbreaking OFW story. If authorities focus on this case but fail to consider the
bigger picture and long-term situation, it will not be the last, either. (leg-conclusion, solution)
(The Manila Standard – 4/3/18)

The SPECS approach

S – Situation and the problem/s arising from it.
P – Position
E – Evidence/Explanation/Example/Extra details
C – Conclusion
S – Solution
 First thing firsts
The Department of Health (DOH) revealed that more and more of our countrymen, notably overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs), are afflicted with the dreaded human-immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(HIV/AIDS). It sounds really alarming. (Situation)

There’s urgent need for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to invest more on HIV/AIDS awareness
and prevention among workers in general and OFWs in particular.
In the view of ACTS-OFW party-list Rep. Aniceto “John” Bertiz III, awareness and prevention are our best tools
against the deadly disease, which continues to claim the lives of many Filipinos. (Position)

A total of 5,537 OFWs have either tested positive for HIV or have full-blown AIDS. They comprise 11 percent of the
52,280 cases listed in the Department of Health’s National HIV/AIDS Registry. This is very unfortunate because if we look
at the median age of these OFWs -- at 32 to 34 years old -- they are at the top of their lives in terms of potential
workforce productivity. E (Evidence-Explanation, Example, Extra Details (with statistics)

Migrant workers, particularly seamen, are susceptible to HIV infection because they are exposed to foreign
cultures that usually encourage high-risk behavior, including casual sex. After spending lengthy periods at sea, seamen
are vulnerable at foreign ports of call. “And they have the money to pay for readily available commercial sex services in
foreign ports,” he said. (Evidence-Explanation, Example, Extra Details (with statistics)

In 2017 alone, an average of 41 Filipinos died every month due to HIV/AIDS, worrying health and other government
authorities, religious leaders, employers and community leaders. (Evidence-Explanation, Example, Extra Details (with
statistics)
We cannot just overemphasize the importance of improving the country’s HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention
programs considering the still rising number of Filipinos seeking jobs abroad. (Conclusion)

It’s definitely time for concerned government offices and agencies to act now -- and fast -- if we are to ensure the
health and safety of the burgeoning Philippine population. (Specific Solution)

(People’s Journal : 4/10/18)

Curbing illicit activities

Being the largest school in the division, Quezon High has an average enrolment of 10,000 students annually.
What springs from the big population is also a big problem especially on safety for both students and teachers.

Within the first two quarters of the current school year, three cases of prevalent thefts happened in the campus.
These occurred separately on different dates. All these cases happened when major school activities are being held.
While some students left their belongings inside their classroom, these thieves attack. There is a big possibility that the
crime is committed by an ‘organized’ group of erring students. The most recent happened during the rehearsals of
wellness program of the MAPEH department. The thieves cut through the grade seven classroom and stole an expensive
new DSLR camera, laptops, money, and other valuables that students bring for their presentation and projects in school.
What worst is that even teachers’ room is penetrated by these intruders stealing teachers’ bags, money, cellphones, and
other valuables.

Early this October, a grade 10 student stabbed a school mate because of heated arguments. The onset of cases like
these, alarm QNHS’ community. For this reason, the PTA officers and the school administration collaborate to install
surveillance cameras within the identified areas. As much as Php112,000 PTA fund will be spent for CCTV installation. It’s
a big amount indeed, but with big purpose too.

Installing CCTVs within the school’s vicinity comes as a respite from the fangs of theft, gang clash, drug trade, and
other untoward incidents happening inside the campus.

The CCTV cameras are advantageous to QNHS grounds. It reduces fear of crimes. Numerous studies have
determined the presence of cameras in public places lessen fear of crime in people who use the area. There is some
reduced level of fear of felony among people in CCTV areas, since people are aware that they are under surveillance. It
also encourages people to be more security conscious. CCTV camera evidence can be compelling. In a big school like
QNHS, the long-range effects to crime prevention can be beneficial.

It is a common knowledge that some outsiders enter the campus despite tight security measures. There is a
chance that crimes such as drug trade happen using students as couriers. There have been reports about it, though
witnesses fear to testify. In serious matters like this, police intervention is required. The potential of a CCTV system plays
an important role in drug trade prevention; it contributes in a detection role. Camera footage can also help identify
potential witnesses who might not otherwise come forward to the police.

Relatively, CNN Philippines’ report for instance confirmed that a month after 32 CCTV’s were installed at Pasig
Rotonda last May 2015, weekly theft and robbery cases in the area went down from 50 to 10 to three cases – an 80 to 94
percent decrease. This implies the effectiveness of surveillance cameras to lessen untoward incidents. Thus, if CCTV
cameras are fully installed in QNHS, the same probability in reducing thefts, drug trade and gang troubles will surely have
positive result.

What can be said at this juncture is that CCTV inside QNHS aids in monitoring suspected intruders and their
movements in a less intrusive manner. So, despite some teachers negative reaction on ‘privacy matters,’ QNHS
community in general finds a silent partner in curbing unlawful incidents inside the school premises.

The Coconut staff gives its full support to this noteworthy partnership between the PTA and the school
administration hoping that not only 10, but more CCTVs must be installed in all vantage points of the campus .(The
Coconut 2015-2016)

The I-PO-RO-SAC approach

I - Introduction
PO - Point of the opposition
RO - Reject the point of the opposition
SA - Strong Arguments / Weighing in
C - Conclusion

Peligrosong bakuna
Libu-libong mga magulang ng mga bata sa elementarya mula sa tatlong rehiyon ng bansa partikular sa Central
Luzon, National Capital Region at CALABARZON ang nangangamba dahil sa usaping kaligtasan ng kanilang mga anak dulot
ng bakunang Dengvaxia. Sa halip na proteksyon laban sa dengue, posibleng mas malagay sa mapanganib na sitwasyong
pangkalusugan ang mga bata dahil sa bakuna. (Introduction/newspeg)

Sa kainitan ng usaoin, nananatiling matatag ang paninindigan ng mga opisyal ng nagdaang administrasyon na ligtas
ang itinurok na Dengvaxia. Mariin nilang ipinaglalaban na dumaan ito sa masusing pag-aarl at eksperimento kaya’t
walang masamang epekto sa kalusugan ng mga batang naturukan. Ayon sa kanila, ang isinasagawang imbistigasyon ay
pawang pamumulitika lamang. (Point of opposition)

Ngunit baliw lang ang maniniwalang ligtas at walang masamang epekto sa kalusugan ang naturang vaccine. Ito ay
isang malaking pagkakamaling ayaw lang aminin ng nagdaang administrasyon. (Rejecting the opposition point)

Humigit-kumulang sa 733,000 na mga bata ang sumailalim sa bakuna ayon sa datos ng Department of Health
(DOH). Nang pumutok ang kontrobersya, sinuspinde ng DOH ang pagbabakuna matapos magsulputan ang mga ulat ukol
sa masamang epekto nito at ang pagkamatay ng hindi bababa sa tatlong bata. Tama lang na ipatigil na ito.
(Strong arguments)

Sa lalawigan ng Quezon, ang bakuna ay naibigay sa lahat ng mga bata sa elementarya na nasa ikaapat na baytang.
Ito ay tatlong beses nangyari. Ayon kay Iris Bigyan, Disease Surveillance Officer ng Quezon Medical Center, may
posibilidad na ang mga nabigyan ng bakuna ay makakakuha ng ilang mga sakit tulad ng sakit ng ulo, lagnat at rashes. Para
sa mga hindi pa nagkakaroon ng dengue, ang bakuna mismo ay maaaring maging sanhi ng pagkakaroon nito. (strong
arguments)

Ayon sa pagsusuri ng DOH kamakailan, ang mga benepisyo ng bakuna ay nakikita sa mga nauna nang
nagkaroon ng dengue. Kabaligtaran ito para sa mga hindi pa nagkakaroon ng dengue. Delikado ang pagbakuna nito sa
mga hindi pa nagkakaroon ng dengue na maaaring maharap sa isang malubhang problemang pangkalusugan.
(strong arguments)

Isang siyam na taong gulang na batang lalaki mula sa Tayabas City ang nakaranas ng matinding pananakit ng ulo
pagkatapos ng bakuna. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit ginagawa ng Quezon Medical Center Surveillance team ang
pagsubaybay sa lahat ng mag-aaral na nabakunahan mula sa mga pampublikong paaralang elementarya sa Quezon
province. Ang lahat ng 39 munisipyo at dalawang lungsod ay inatasan na magsumite ng mga ulat ng kanilang
surveillance. Itop ay upang masigurado na maayos ang estado ng kalusugan ng mga batang tumanggap ng bakuna.
(strong arguments)

Lumikha man ng takot sa publiko ang Dengvaxia, ang pinakamagandang bagay na maaaring gawinsa ngayon ay
ang pagiging kalmado. Dapat ipaliwanag ng mahusay sa magulang ang proseso ng pagbabakuna, ang kasalukuyang mga
panukalang ginagawa ng DOH, DepEd, at lokal na pamahalaan upang maproteksyunan ang mga bata laban sa masamang
epekto nito. Dapat maunawaan ng lahat na ang usaping ito ay hindi mapapawi sa loob lamang ng ilang segundo - dahil
ang buong epekto ng Dengvaxia ay makikita tatlong taon pagkatapos ng pagbabakuna, ayon sa DOH.
(conclusion)

Ang pinakamagandang gawin sa kasalukuyan ay makikipagtulungan sa pagsisikap ng DOH na maiwasto ang

pagkakamaling ito. (conclusion) (Ang Niyog 2017)