The editorial discusses the Dagupan City mayor's decision to finally implement recommendations from three years ago to restructure the inefficient city government. While overdue, some question the timing given the current economic crisis. The revamp may purge non-supporters but could improve services if done properly. Overall, the editorial supports restructuring but urges care in implementation and consideration of affected workers.

2. THE EDITORIAL

3. What is an editorial?
The editorial is the thought of an
institution testifying before the bar
of public opinion; the editorial is also
the presentation of fact and opinion
that interprets significant news and
influences public thoughts.

4. What is an editorial?
The editorial serves as the official
view of the paper, reflecting the
opinions of many sides of an issue.

5. Editorial vs Column
The basic difference between an
editorial and a column is that the
editorial expresses the newspaper’s
views, while the column contains
those of the columnist.

6. Editorial vs Column: Similarities
Both depend on verifiable
information for their conclusions.
Both must be logical and reasonably
argued.
Both appear regularly: the editorial
whenever the newspaper is
published and the column during
specified days.

7. Editorial vs Column: Differences
The column may be written by a
staff member, by someone tasked
specifically for that purpose.
The editorial is written by whoever is
assigned by the editor-in-chief or the
op-ed page editor to do so.

8. Editorial vs Column: Differences
The editorial, if and when it is ever
necessary to refer to the entity
whose views it is expressing, uses
the pronoun “we”, never “I.”
The columnist can use the first
person “I”. Seldom does a columnist
say “we” to refer to himself or
herself.

9. Editorial vs Column: Differences
The editorial is not signed.
The column is signed by the
individual who writes it.
A staff member who is a regular
employee of the newspaper writes
the editorial.

10. Editorial vs Column: Differences
The editorial may be written by the
editor-in-chief if he or she wants to,
by a senior editor, or by several
editors and/or staff members on a
rotational basis.
The same columnist writes the
column each time it appears.

11. Types of Editorials
Editorials of argument and
persuasion take a firm stand on a
problem or condition. They attempt
to persuade the reader to think the
same way. This editorial often
proposes a solution or advises taking
some definite action.

12. Editorial of
argument and
persuasion

13. Types of Editorials
Editorials of information and
interpretation attempt to explain the
meaning or significance of a
situation or news event. There is a
wide variety of editorials in this
category, ranging from those which
provide background information to
those which identify issues.

14. Editorial of
information and
interpretation

15. Types of Editorials
Editorials of tribute, appreciation or
commendation praise a person or an
activity.

16. Editorial of
tribute,
appreciation or
commendation.

17. Types of Editorials
Editorials of entertainment have two
categories. One is the short
humorous treatment of a light topic.
The second is a slightly satirical
treatment of a serious subject.
(Satire is the use of sarcasm or keen
wit to denounce abuses or follies.)

18. Titulo
Mabuti pa si Renato
Meron ng Corona
Sagana pa sa titulo.
May titulo sa midnight appointment
May titulo sa pagkatuta
May titulo sa Ph.d
May titulo sa Bellagio
May titulo sa Burgundy
May titulo sa La Vista
May titulo sa McKinley
May titulo sa The Ayala Column
May titulo sa Spanish Bay Tower.
Kaming taga Hacienda Luisita
Kaming taga Brgy.Corazon de Jesus
Editorial of
entertainment

19. Choosing a Subject
Whether editorial or column, in
theory there is no limit to what could
be the subjects of opinion pieces.

20. Choosing a Subject
Editorials, however, have a wider
latitude in this respect. They may be
about an issue currently in the
news, the anniversary of an event,
the changing of the seasons, or a
subject the newspaper wants its
readers to focus attention on.

21. Choosing a Subject
The subject of an editorial can be on
politics, the environment, the
economy, culture and the arts,
independence day, Christmas, or a
looming energy crisis.
The columnist does not have the
same latitude of choice as far as
subjects are concerned.

22. Choosing a Subject
Opinion columns usually have a
specific focus: politics, business, the
environment, sports, etc. A political
column, for example, can’t be about
the changing of the seasons unless it
has some bearing on politics.

23. The Editorial Writer
Keep up with the news, and be well-
informed on a day-to-day basis.
Be ready to undertake research if he
or she is unfamiliar with the subject
or is not sufficiently informed about
it.

24. The Editorial Writer
Research should not only be in the
newspaper’s own library but in other
document sources as well, or the
Internet.
It may also be necessary to conduct
interviews with persons in a position
to provide additional information.

25. Writing the Editorial
The process involved in writing an
editorial is the same as in any other
composition.

26. Writing the Editorial
The assignment, or choice of the
topic.
Research.
Evaluating the information thus far
gathered.

27. Writing the Editorial
Deciding what the main point of the
editorial will be
Organizing the material to support
that point.

28. Writing the Editorial
Designing the presentation. The
editorial writer may choose to
make an outline to guide his or
her writing.
Writing.
Revising.

29. Writing the Editorial
In other words, plan before you
write.
“My working habits are simple: long
periods of thinking, short periods
of writing.” – Ernest Hemingway

30. Parts of an Editorial
An introduction, in which the
writer reminds readers about the
event on which one is commenting.

31. Parts of an Editorial
A body, in which the writer argues
for or against the proposal or
suggestion.

32. Parts of an Editorial
A conclusion, in which the
newspaper’s position is stated.

33. Sample Editorial

34. The right thing to do at the wrong time?
Finally, the city government has announced that Mayor
Benjamin Lim is now ready to implement the
recommendations of the University of the Philippines
Center for Local and Regional Governance (UP-CLRG) for
a top-to-bottom revamp of the city government to make it
more efficient and effective in the delivery of services to
the people of Dagupan City.
Three years ago, the UP-CLRG found in a management
evaluation that the city government was totally
disorganized and inadequate in responding to the needs
of the people and the demands of public service. It
suggested the adoption of a lean and mean organizational
structure that would clearly define each office’s functions
and responsibilities and save the city from wasting millions
of pesos of the people’s money every year just to pay the
salaries of employees who just sit in their offices all day
and wait for the sunset.
Why Lim delayed the implementation of the UP study--
which by the way, cost the city government almost half a
million pesos-- is still not clear to this day. And no one,
including the city councilors who are supposed to be the
people’s eyes and ears and voice in the city government,
has bothered to ask why. All we have heard are
speculations that Lim may have temporarily shelved the
study so he could keep the support of city government
personnel for his reelection bid last May.
An introduction
in which the
writer reminds
readers about the
event on which
one is
commenting

35. In finally deciding now to implement the UP
recommendations, Lim may have simply realized that
continuing with the present city government set -up will do
him more harm than good, personally and politically, in the
long run. Not only once or twice, but many times in the
past, has his attention been called to the organizational
confusion at city hall and the undeserved discourtesies
that ordinary people get from some overbearing city hall
employees. If this continues, Lim knows that his political
survival is imperiled and his reputation as a corporate
manager, being the owner and chief executive officer of a
supermarket chain in the province and having been at one
time the general manager of Duty Free Philippines, is at
stake.
The local media, too, have been very nosy and noisy
about this.
While many Dagupeños welcome the city government
revamp, there are still those who question the necessity
and sincerity of the revamp and see it as mere witch-
hunting – a desperate ploy to purge the city government of
employees who did not support Lim in the last elections--
more than a desire to rid the city’s bureaucracy of
deadwood ( this word never takes an “s”) and non-
performers. This perception has been bolstered by a city
official’s pronouncement that in the implementation of the
UP recommendations, all city government positions will be
declared vacant, in obvious defiance of the Civil Service
rule on the security of tenure.
A section in
which the
writer argues
for or against
the proposal or
suggestion.

36. Still, there are others who believe that Lim is doing the
right thing but at the wrong time. As a consequence of
the revamp, almost 300 emergency workers will be the
first to go. These include street sweepers, garbage
collectors and traffic aides. The work that they will be
leaving will be offered on a take-it-or-leave-it basis to
excess permanent employees from the different city
government offices. And in the face of a financial crisis
that is gripping the country now, this is not the right time
for anyone to lose a job.
Meanwhile, city government employees have adopted a
wait-and-see attitude and have kept their plans to
themselves. But what is likely is that they will not take the
revamp sitting down, or just watch from the sidelines
once the purge begins.
A section in
which the
writer argues
for or against
the proposal or
suggestion.

37. But whatever Lim’s motives may be – political self-
preservation or a sincere desire to serve – the city hall
reorganization is long overdue. It certainly took him a lot
of courage and political will to arrive at this decision.
Implemented properly, the revamp should be the first
step in the installation of a truly professional
bureaucracy in Dagupan City, where employees no
longer have a false sense of security and the public is
fully satisfied with the services they get.
A concluding
section, in
which the
newspaper’s
position is
stated.