QUEZON CITY, November 11, 2020 – Acuris-Policy and Regulatory Report (PaRR) reporter and former media practitioner James Konstantin Galvez trained 20 writers of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to effectively write press releases.

He emphasized “keep it short, stupid” – originally the ‘keep it short and simple’ (KISS) principle – during the three-day Technical Writing Workshop at the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI).

The participants are from the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program (National Office and Region 4B), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), and ATI.

He said that writing must be clear and concise with a maximum of 25 words per paragraph.

Also, he stressed that the lead paragraph must answer the questions of “who, what, and so what” instead of the usual 5Ws (who, what, when, where, and why) and 1 H (how).

Proper angling of the story was also focused on through on-the-spot article writing.

Meanwhile, Myriam Layaoen of the DA Strategic Communications Office also presented the proper use of data, tables, figures, and pictures in writing reports and articles.

“I thought we could write,” shared BPI Information Officer Lolinnie Eugenio. With years of experience in writing, she said that she learned new styles that improved her skill.

The training, funded by the DA-SAAD, helped its personnel produce effective articles for the program’s audiences to be informed and educated of its mission – to contribute to the poverty alleviation of marginalized farmers and fishers from 30 provinces. ###

Writers:

Jhomai Canlas, Jemiema Arro, and Jennifer Valcobero

SAAD NPMO