THE GOVERNMENT

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Appendixes A: list of Philippine presidents B: list of government agencies A to Z 47 47 48 60 STYLE GUIDE FOR THE GOVERNMENT 9
1. INTRODUCTION The main purpose of government communications is to impart information to the citizen. It ascribes to the tenants that government has to be open and accessible, and that government writing must be in service to the people. The government must consider its information a public right and its handling a public trust. Information and public records must be made available and properly disseminated—instead of languishing in government archives or published discreetly in an obscure website. Government writing must reflect this philosophy, enforced by a voice that is clear, direct, and focused. The outward objective of informing the people is paired with the inward goal of fostering unity and a culture of coordination within all government offices and entities. This unity does not mean that the different branches and officers that represent the government must sound the same. Rather, they all must be driven by the same principles of effective communication, of which good writing is an integral component. Each department may take to its own style of prose, depending on their function and mandate (from lengthy briefers on the origin of a particular law, to short, succinct public advisories) but it is the effective use of language that fosters unity within government. And it is this unity that ultimately allows government writing to be both consistent and credible. This style guide was written to be different from other guides in that the main goal here is to develop a sense for good writing, rather than to enforce particular points on usage (although we do have a section for that in this book). Government writing is littered with awkward phrases that are, at times, not easy to spot. We have become accustomed to them, and so we don’t question the merit of the statement based on what makes the best sense or how a member of the public would read it. Consider this sentence: As part of its thrust to educate schoolchildren on disaster preparedness, the Department of Education (DepEd) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will introduce today a children’s storybook entitled “What Happens in Disasters” at Pasig Elementary School. Although we get a general idea of what the passage is trying to say, we get lost in the sheer amount of information dumped in the one sentence. Let us break it down: first we have the mission/vision of the department, we are also informed of a partnership between agencies (DepEd and JICA), the specifics of the project, and finally we see that the sentence also tells us where the book was launched. Though we cannot say the sentence is unorganized (because indeed, the sentence is grammatical), the way it comes together is clunky and unintuitive—as if the writer thought the more you could stuff into one sentence the better. But anyone (both inside and outside government work) can tell you, that is not how people speak. The distinction must be made between information and the act of informing. Information is numbers on the page; while the act of informing is what makes these figures understood by others. Returning to the sentence above, it would be better phrased this way: The Department of Education has released a children’s storybook on disaster preparedness. The book, entitled “What Happens in Disasters,” was a joint project with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The subtle difference in the two versions is in essence what this style guide is about: the responsibility of government to properly frame its actions through the use of plain language. 10 STYLE GUIDE FOR THE GOVERNMENT
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Page 9: CONTENTS Introduction Plain languag
Page 13 and 14: lengthy explication, broad statemen
Page 15 and 16: Consider the sentence: “Please no
Page 17 and 18: Italicize the proper names of ships
Page 19 and 20: Institutions. University of the Phi
Page 21 and 22: Personal titles. Capitalize when ti
Page 23 and 24: the Responsible Parenthood and Repr
Page 25 and 26: Nouns from prepositional verbs The
Page 27 and 28: NO: YES: The trouble with lies are
Page 29 and 30: This year we will be on stronger fo
Page 31 and 32: Stop! How dare you say that to me!
Page 33 and 34: Use periods on initials of names (B
Page 35 and 36: Possessives An apostrophe is used t
Page 37 and 38: Write a lede It is highly encourage
Page 39 and 40: A simple “For your guidance” wi
Page 41 and 42: WRITING SPEECHES Write for an audie
Page 43 and 44: Signal ideas clearly Use first, sec
Page 45 and 46: Recommended: Specify the agency web
Page 47 and 48: DFA: New Hainan fisheries law “es
Page 49 and 50: DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL (December 30, 19
Page 51 and 52: NPS NTP ODESFA ODESGA ODESLA OES OG
Page 53 and 54: KP NHIP NNC PHIC RH Pinoy MD RHMPP
Page 55 and 56: Infrastructure BOT CAB CAAP CSR DEO
Page 57 and 58: WB WTO World Bank World Trade Organ
Page 59 and 60: KIA MARINA MILF MNLF NBI NDCP NICA
Page 61 and 62:
DTTB IT ICT RD or R&D digital terre
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adult Applies to all persons 18 and
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amidst Use amid or in the midst. an
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AWOL No need to spell out “absent
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canvas / canvass A “canvas” is
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Chinese names Chinese names place s
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congressman A member of the Philipp
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data An unusual word. Data is suppo
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DNA No need to spell out deoxyribon
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emoticon A typographical symbol to
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general orders - Acts and commands
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Acceptable for common usage that do
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health care Two words. here Often u
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In fairness Not a local idiom. This
Page 89 and 90:
Korean names The family name comes
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18 ha / 18 hectares 23 km / 23 kilo
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national anthem Lowercase “the na
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Use “1st,” “2nd,” “3rd,
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papal nuncio Envoy of the Vatican t
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priority Something given more impor
Page 101 and 102:
Republic acts were passed under the
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(sic) Avoid. so-called Do not follo
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Supreme Court Capitalize when refer
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unique An adjective that cannot be
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your / you’re Y Your style of man
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RESIDENTIAL C OMMUNIC AT I ON DEVEL
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MGA NILALAMAN Balarila at paggamit
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Kung iwawasto sa Filipino: Maraming
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Ingles. Higit na isang pang-angkop
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2.11. Magkaiba ang “para” sa
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Kung gayon, may ipinahihiwatig na p
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4.3. Gumamit ng iisa lamang na tand
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Bilang halimbawa, hindi katanggap-t
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Dahil dapat unahin ang paghiram sa
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Ibig sabihin, kapag ginamit na ang
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kalituhan kapag binago ang baybay),
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IKALAWANG BAHAGI MGA PAGBABANTAS 6.
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Dr. / Dra. (Doktor / Doktora) Sen.
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Nang may pitong taon pa lamang ako,
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11. Ang paggamit ng tuldok-kuwit 11
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13.3. Ginagamit ang tuldok-tuldok s
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15. Ang paggamit ng panipi 15.1. Gi
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18. Ang paggamit ng gitling 18.1. M
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amoy-pawis (amoy ng pawis) palipad-
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19. Ang paggamit ng gatlang 19.1. M
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engkuwentro biskuwit 21.4. Panatili
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shuttle (En. shuttle) sadshak (Ibal
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27.2. Sa mga tambalang-salita, gina
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MALI: TAMA: MALI: TAMA: MALI: TAMA:
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longganisang Vigan bagoong Balayan
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latte
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Palasyo ng Malacañan Libingan ng m
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32.19. Ginagamitan ng malaking titi
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PHL (Philippines) PH (Philippines)
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Mark S. Reyes Nina Agapito-Reyes Ma
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34.8. Opisyal na Pangalan ng mga Wi
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IKATLONG BAHAGI MGA USAPIN NG BILAN
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37.1. Bilang pangkalahatang tuntuni
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41. Fraction 41.1. Binabaybay nang
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MALI: 1945-1985 MALI: 1945 - 85 MAL
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TAMA (KAPAG NASA LOOB NG PANGUNGUSA
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Filipino: 8:30 n.u. (ng umaga) Ingl
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IKAAPAT NA BAHAGI MGA SULIRANIN SA
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Kadalasan ding ipinakikilala ng tut
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10. Paggawa ng talababa at talasang
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Mga dapat tandaan sa bantas: Nakala
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12.2. Sa dyornal, magasin at pahaya
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Sanggunian Hindi inilalagay sa sang
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Sources ng Legislative bills and re
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Ikalawa, pang-ilang kongreso o sess
Page 201 and 202:
Alyas o sagisag-panulat ng may-akda
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THE GOVERNMENT

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