Philippine election spending: A disgrace

By BusinessMirror Editorial (2016)

An Article Critique

Submitted by:

Kiunisala, James Kenneth M.

Maulanin, Airish May J.
Maulanin, Traci Lei
Grade 11 – STEM A

Submitted to:

Ms. Cleo Dialo

Reading & Writing Skills Teacher

10 February 2020
 Presidential and senatorial elections in the Philippines takes place every six years. Each
candidate have their own way of campaigning and getting the citizen's trust. In the editorial
article entitled "Philippine election spending: A disgrace" published by a daily newspaper
‘BusinessMirror’, the author pointed out how much an aspirant spends when it comes to
papers and television or radio campaign instead of spending it to those people who needs
help. He also compared their expenses to that of United Kingdom which is a little off, since
UK is under parliamentary government.

Immoral and obscene—that is how the author described the election spending in the
Philippines in line with the argument that this amount of money could have been used for the
better. The total campaign spending in the year 2015 of the United Kingdom was compared
to the spending in the year 2016 of the Philippines. The author stated that our country’s
election candidates spent approximately 123.33% larger than the candidates in UK. To
support his/her main argument, the author gave an example wherein our former President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was mentioned and how she spent wastefully. With the statistics
that the author used to support his/her claims, he/she managed to mention how our
country’s election spending could have been used to build housing units for the Super
typhoon Yolanda survivors and to build public-school classrooms. Thus, the author concluded
that our campaign spending for the political election is wrong and should be changed.

The title of the article already shows the disappointment of the author towards the
Philippine election spending—the main idea of the text. The article started with a comparison
between the election in the United Kingdom and in the Philippines which is a good point since
it can be a basis for his opinion. The ideas were supported with statistics such as the total
amount of campaign spending in both countries converted in Philippine pesos. The author
also clarified that the election system in United Kingdom is a parliamentary election where in
that case is different from the Philippines to not confuse the readers. With these information,
the author managed to serve his/her stand about the focus of the article in which he/she
strongly stated that the election spending in the Philippines is more than a disgrace
particularly is immoral and obscene; a valuable statement which can possibly make the article
an eye-opener.

The author continued supporting his/her stand with different information and allows
him/her to elaborate his/her points. The author listed some examples about the blunders of
the campaign spending in Philippine election such as the controversy of the past presidential
candidate then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the thought of spending more can help
the economy of the country, and the fact that the large amount of campaign spending can
really help the people including those who were damaged by Typhoon Haiyan or mostly
known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda. These examples were empowered with
evidences which are essential in proving one’s point. With these evidences, the author used
these information to spice up another argument showing coherence and cohesion of the
work. Organization of the author’s idea is the one of the strength of the article and it leads
the readers to understand the overall idea of the text; it persuades the readers to agree with
the author’s arguments. The use of Irony was also a plus because it intensifies the feeling of
the readers towards the idea. The author then concluded with a strong and reconciliatory
argument that the election spending is wrong and should be changed is highly commended.
The article was brief and leaves an after taste which signifies a good editorial article (Singh A.
and Singh S., 2006).
 However, some sources of the evidences that the author used to empower his/her
stand seems nowhere to be found. For example in the part where the author cited a
statement about the controversy of the former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the
author should have indicated the name of the politician in order to make the statement more
credible. According to a news article published by Philippine Star, the mentioned politician in
the text was Jejomar Binay where in that time was the city mayor of Makati then later on
became the Vice-president of the Philippines (Villanueva, 2009).

On the other hand, the author did not use correct punctuation marks specifically,
commas. The use of the word ‘nonsense’ shows weakness due to informality rather than
becoming a powerful statement. Indication of ‘Typhoon Haiyan’ as the international name for
Typhoon Yolanda is a must to be easily acknowledge by the readers abroad. The arrangement
of the words was made properly yet the word ‘super typhoon’ was misspelled. What makes
the article lacking is the focus on some recommendations which is also part of the author’s
argument. It would be better if the author’s suggestions about how election campaign
spending can help the economy were elaborated properly rather than just mentioning its
failures. The author could have suggested more than what he/she indicated.

By and large, the author of the editorial article synthesized the main idea in a logical
way which allowed the readers to clearly and fully understand his/her arguments. He/she was
also able to shed light on the reality about the campaign spending of the candidates during
election; a composition that is disturbingly extravagant. All thing considered and despite of
the flaws of the article itself, the author is very radical. He/she still managed to explain how
and why campaign spending should change by thinking how it could positively affect our
country's economy. Furthermore, the author managed to give good arguments in the article
by stating examples which shows the blunders of election spending powered with good
evidences such as statistical data, intensifying the feeling of the readers that could affect their
stand.
 References
BusinessMirror (2020). Philippine election spending: A disgrace. [online] Available at:

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2016/06/10/philippine-election-spending-a-

disgrace/?fbclid=IwAR0shUnBUp4ArOuBHOmFLGt9m4FAkZB5pI57MMsjDkA7hEEfoN

0V012s27Y [Accessed 9 Feb. 2020].

Villanueva, R. (2020). GMA group wined, dined in New York restaurant – for

$20,000. Philippine Star. [online] Available at https://www.philstar.com/

headlines/2009/08/09/493998/gma-group-wined-dined-new-york-restaurant-

20000 [Accessed 9 Feb. 2020].

Singh A. and Singh S. (2006), What Is A Good Editorial? (Editorial). In: What Medicine Means

To Me (Ajai R. Singh, Shakuntala A. Singh Eds.), MSM, III:6, IV:1-4, p14-17.