EDITORIAL WRITING

An editorial is a piece of writing on a timely topic to inform, entertain, influence or involve readers. It is the “soul” of the newspaper. It reflects stand of the newspaper.

Purposes of an editorial1) Influence public opinion2) Call attention to a wrong3) Enlighten readers4) Help a cause5) Praise or congratulate6) to comment highly on the news

Guiding points for editorial writing

1) Think the issue througha) All facts are thereb) Every possible single is analyzedc) Logical

2) Consistency of viewpointImpartial, straight forward3) Aggressiveness without belligerency4) Dignity-good taste, not rash, calm, authoritative judgment5) Note of authority, cite sources/ dictionary statistics etc.

Types of editorials1) Informative -- review/announce certain facts or events2) Interpretative -- those which explain or bring out significance of eventEx. Why there is need to extend the CARP.3) Crusade or reform4) Praise or command5) Entertainment6) Tribute

Writing the editorial1) What is editorial all about? (information dissemination)2) Why is it important to readers? (Generation of discussion)3) So what is to be done? (Participation in decision-making)

a) Beginning:(1) Striking statementEx.- Patriot, senator, lawyer, martyr- that is the average housewife.

2) QuotationEx.- “Being a newsman is not easy. You get and print the news, then could get killed for it.” This was the statement of John Santos, president of the National Press Club who summed up sentiments of the media who attended the NPC congress in Manila last week.

3) NarrationEx.- Typhoon Luding showed its wrath last week. It cut through northern Luzon with strong winds killing 20 people and destroying P300 million worth of properties.

4) Order- Go out and vote!

5) Question -- The Philippines, according to the National economic Development Authority is on the way to recovery, but is it? This question was posed by. . .

6) News peg- The Filipino people have always been lovers of music and theater. And it is timely that November has been declared a month for indigenous Philippine music and theater arts.

(b) Body:Should include the editorial’s basic facts, causes and effects behind incidents and situations, illustrations or argument.

(c) ConclusionDrives home the final important thought or directions in the form of advice, challenge, command, just rounding out or simple summary.

Tips of editorial writing:1) Use positive approach-state the problem, analyze it objectively and suggest a solution or urge an activity.2) Be brief and clear3) Get to the point quickly4) For a school paper, a 200-word editorial is advisable5) Use simple words6) Do not preach, present facts7) The editorial must be fresh and presented as clear as possible.

Guiding pointsComprehension, compassion, cohesion, clarity, completeness, conciseness

EDITORIAL Another deadly rampageThere’s supposed to be an election gun ban. And security is supposed to be tight in courtrooms and halls of justice, where decorum is observed and there is always a chance that jailbirds on trial might attempt to escape.

And yet a former Canadian journalist, on trial for malicious mischief for threatening a doctor with a gun, managed to enter a courtroom in Cebu yesterday with not just one but two guns. John Holdridge Pope fatally shot the doctor who sued him plus his lawyer. Pope then left the courtroom and was reportedly trying to shoot more people before he was shot and wounded by a policeman. Pope, reportedly despondent over personal problems, then shot himself and died later in a hospital.

Pope was reportedly frisked before entering the courtroom on the fourth floor of the hall of justice. But the frisking failed to detect the gun hidden in his sock and another in his bag. There is no metal detector in the hall of justice.

After all the deaths from gun violence since New Year’s Eve, and with a gun ban in place, you’d think there would be tighter enforcement of gun control. The deadly rampage of Pope shows that this is not the case, even in a government building that is supposed to be better secured than other public places.

The rampage should lead to a review of security systems in other government buildings, particularly in halls of justice. Even more important, it should lead to a review of the enforcement of the ban on carrying firearms outside homes during the election period. It all boils down to effective law enforcement.

EDITORIAL - Discomfort zonesFilipinos call them comfort rooms, and the facilities are missing in many parts of the country. The lack of roadside toilets is a common complaint of visitors in the Philippines, Sen. Ralph Recto disclosed at the recent hearing on the budget of the Department of Tourism.Recto said the country has one of the world’s lowest ratios of public toilets per kilometer of national road: about 1 for every 1,000 kilometers. It seems a succession of administrations hoped the private sector would deal with the lack, by installing toilets in gas stations, fast-food outlets and other commercial establishments.Fast-food outlets, gas stations and shopping malls may be ubiquitous in cities across the country, but there are still too many long stretches of roads without a single modern toilet. The best that travelers can hope for is a latrine in a nipa hut or an outhouse.

Recto wants part of the travel tax collected by the government to be used to construct roadside toilets. The government collects an average of P10 million daily in travel taxes, with departing passengers paying amounts ranging from P300 to P1,620. The money is collected by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, with 40 percent going to the Commission on Higher Education.In the proposed national budget for 2015, P16.3 billion is also being allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways for construction or repair of roads leading to tourist destinations.From the NAIA to tourist spots, providing clean, modern public toilets with running water and enough toilet paper has always been a problem in this country. Shopping mall operators have led the way in upgrading public toilets, with some facilities even having air-conditioning. But the malls can cover only a few areas. For the rest of the country, the government must step in. The Philippines takes pride in its hospitality. This should be reflected in the quality of its public comfort rooms.

EDITORIALRot in the systemLoyalty has its merits, sure. But President Aquino would have to forgive the public if it rolls its eyes at yet another instance of him peremptorily dismissing concerns about the performance of a subordinate. This time, public anger has been directed at Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima for the spate of brazen crimes that show not only a breakdown of law and order but, even more alarmingly, the involvement of police officers themselves in criminal activities.To suggestions that Purisima resign over the activities of rogue cops under his watch, the President had the usual peevish retort: “Might I ask: Is this the first time that we have seen scalawags in the police? It might be true that there are some scalawags in uniform, but who, after all, caught those who held up a businessman [on] Edsa? It was the police, as well, under the leadership of General Purisima who investigated, pursued, and caught those lawless elements—who, today, are facing the appropriate [charges]. On top of this, a plethora of crimes has already been solved, including high-profile cases. In the light of this, is it fair to call on General Purisima to resign when he is leading a police force that fulfills [its] responsibilities?”Well, yes. How, in the first place, did those scalawags in uniform spread in the force undetected for so long? Lowlifes do not spring fully formed, at the peak of their dubious skills, in an instant. They are obviously the products of an environment that taught them that cutting corners has its rewards, however illicit, and that the possession of a badge and a gun in these parts can be a license to engage in nefarious activities. Those police officers who held up and extorted more than P2 million from the drivers of a white van on Edsa were well-practiced in their dark craft; they were, in fact, counting on their mastery of their well-oiled “hulidap” ways to carry out yet another shakedown—but for the intrepid person who was at the right place at the right time to shoot the now-famous photo that busted their criminal enterprise.The President has it backwards. True, Purisima et al. deserve credit for hunting down the rogue cops, throwing the book at them, and vowing once again to root out every blackguard in the police force. But hunting down their own is not supposed to be the police’s main duty. The PNP’s task is to enforce the law and go after criminals, and not to spawn its own set of lawbreakers. What pride can the government feel in knowing that the police, on top of chasing the thousand and one degenerates from whom they are sworn to defend society, must now also set their sights on their fellow cops and wonder who among them are in cahoots with criminal syndicates?Many, in fact, may have gone beyond wondering and wearily accepted the rot in the system: A report says the police hierarchy has known for decades of a “quota” system in the PNP in which lower-rank officers are expected to produce a certain amount every month if they want to be considered for promotion by their superiors. The report has no names for now, but it goes a long way toward explaining the culture of extortion, mulcting and chicanery that seems to pervade every stratum of the law-enforcement sector from lowly traffic enforcers to the top brass (remember the “euro generals” scandal, which saw 12 former and active ranking PNP officials charged by the Ombudsman with malversation of funds).That report, however sketchy, deserves further scrutiny. But if the President himself has declared his continuing trust and confidence in the so-called good job that Purisima and the rest of the PNP are doing, would anyone be obligated to investigate the matter? Mr. Aquino need not fire Purisima, if he finds that step too drastic. But he needs to bear down on the PNP chief, and demand accountability and explanation for the rash of criminal incidents that have spooked the citizenry and suggested that no one is firmly in charge of keeping the peace.If the cops themselves are now the criminals who have to be ferreted out by their fellow cops, that is not a testament to a police force in good shape. That indicates an appalling breakdown in the very institution sworn to enforce

discipline, order and the power of the law in public life. How can a police force at war with itself effectively fulfill its responsibilities? We’re seeing the sorry answer these days.

Editorial Not quite ‘zero casualty’ but close to itThe initial report was quite unexpected: There was “zero casualty” in the wake of typhoon “Luis” barreling through Northern Luzon with its 120-kilometer-per-hour winds, cutting off electricity, washing out bridges, and destroying roads. A report a few hours later to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) modified the initial “zero casualty” to one death in Cagayan, but it was still welcome news that the country had survived “Luis” with not much loss of life and destruction.The death and devastation caused by super-typhoon Yolanda last year is still fresh in the minds of the people and there is fear whenever a new typhoon approaches the country. As Yolanda  neared in November, 2013, the national government had ordered the local governments of Eastern Visayas  to take all necessary precautions.  Specifically, they were told to aim for “zero casualty.”This was why President Aquino could not quite accept in the beginning that so many appeared to have died in Tacloban City and other towns and cities in Eastern Visayas. But Yolanda turned out to be the strongest typhoon yet to hit land anywhere in the world. Aside from strong winds and rains, it brought something new — a storm surge that brought water from the sea up to two stories high that engulfed the land, then swept thousands of victims out to sea. The death toll reached over  6,000  and many are still missing to this day.The Philippines is visited by at least 16 typhoons every year along with several storms and tropical depressions. It is also  hit by heavy monsoon rains starting in late May and June. When a typhoon comes during the monsoon – or rainy — season, the floods cause even greater destruction than the winds.It is hoped that we have learned our lessons from super-typhoon Yolanda and the other natural calamities that  come our way every year without fail. Prior to his departure for Europe, President Aquino gave instructions to all concerned to see to it that the system of precautionary measures was in place – from the accurate forecasting of the time the typhoon would hit land, the direction it would take, the areas that need to be evacuated.  We can take heart from the way we have kept our losses down with typhoon “Luis.”