HOTSPOT
Tonyo Cruz
I have been asked a couple of times at forums or on Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse, how we columnists come out with commentary on the issues.
There are a lot of ways how we go about it, perhaps many times more than the number of columnists.
Coming from my experience, I could say I derive greatest pleasure in writing commentaries by keeping abreast of the news, reading as widely as possible, talking to a lot of people (not just friends), listening to conversations, and going out to get a feel of what’s important to people. Perhaps this is due to my training in sociology, my political commitments, or my share of native Filipino curiosity, I’m not sure. Most probably, a combination of them.
Then, there’s the world view a columnist is associated with. Some would describe us as either conservatives or liberals, and even rightwing or leftwing. The labels denote how columnists view the world, and this world view is reflected in most if not all of our columns. Be warned though about the constraints of labels, because columnists tend to surprise readers by pushing boundaries, or by helping move the proverbial needle of what the public wants or stands for. Many times, we surprise ourselves. As many political scientists would remind us, the right-center-left designations are a spectrum, and they move in the push-and-pull of politics, economics, art, and history. There are also many times the normally-combative worldviews intersect or agree.
The newspapers we serve could also be conservative, center or liberal by orientation as reflected in how news is presented, and as expressed in their editorials. But even in so-called liberal newspapers, there’s space for conservative voices in the opinion pages. The same could be said about conservative papers employing liberal commentary writers. If the papers won’t do this, the opinion pages would be monotonous and boring to readers. Opinion pages would be effete if the columnists would be constrained from freely speaking their mind and affecting readers.
In about four months, I would have been writing columns for the Manila Bulletin for nine years. That’s a lot of columns containing stories and analyses about the issues that bother, affect, anger, or delight me and others. It is always a joy to write about concerns of the so-called marginalized and underrepresented, and in a manner that challenges the views that all they need is charity or that their fate is of their own doing.
My column-writing “process” is quite simple.
Firstly, I would have to be passionate about an issue to be able to write about it.
One time, when I decided to write a column about activists and their organizations, I thought that perhaps the best way to show their important role in the country is to present their achievements. Since activists are unlike many traditional politicians who go out of their way to claim credit, the public simply don’t know their achievements. That column entitled “achievements” became one of my most-shared pieces.
Secondly, it really helps to be involved directly in the public debate on the issues.
When the Aquino regime eyed an increase in MRT and LRT fares, I joined the discussions questioning the plan. As a commuter myself, I thought the then-president and his transportation secretary were being intellectually poor, uncreative or deceptive when their solution to the train mess was to raise fares.
One of my columns about this issue would be quoted in a Supreme Court petition questioning the fare hike. Moreover, I joined as co-petitioner.
This also happened in the Cybercrime Law and the Anti-Terrorism Law where we joined the public debates, and later led the filing of our own petitions before the high court. Columns were written in the run-up to the filing of the petition, and in the developments after.
Thirdly, there are the interactions with people whose stories I felt needed to be told.
A good example were the columns I wrote after twice visiting a private activist-led rescue shelter in New Taipei for Filipino workers in Taiwan. The encounters I had with them over meals or just while shooting the breeze further educated me about the complexity of the Filipino diaspora experience.
After picking an issue, what follows are the thinking, outlining, researching and writing. Then the draft is emailed to the desk for editing and approval. Finally, it comes out online and in print. Next week, repeat.