Heraldo Filipino

History

Before the name Heraldo Filipino, the then Emilio Aguinaldo College's (EAC) official publication was known as the Magdalo. It released its first issue, with Laura Campos at the helm. She found a need for a publication, and fortunately, she also found potential from Physical Therapy students. It was regularly released twice every semester or four times a year. The topics then were light and positive, focusing on matters about the administration, events inside the campus, and other issues relevant to the students' interest.

In 1987, EAC and the De La Salle University System (DLSU) merged to form DLSU-EAC. Because of this, Campos, who then became the Dean of Student Affairs, considered adopting a new name for the publication in order to distinguish it from the former EAC's publication. (EAC-Manila also used the name Magdalo for their publication.) A contest was held to give the publication a new name, but since nobody joined, Campos decided to name the publication Heraldo Filipino, in reference to a revolutionary newspaper released from 1898 to 1899 by the Philippine government under General Emilio Aguinaldo. The new name, which is Spanish for The Philippine Herald, was launched and effected in 1989.

Publications

HF releases at least seven publications catering to the students' interests. These include, but are not limited to:

Other publications may be released, depending on the situation and preference of the student body.

La Salleño

The first issue of La Salleño (LS) was published in 1993, initiated by Orlando Oliveros (editor in chief, 1993), as a supplement to the HF broadsheet. The purpose of the magazine was to separate serious and editorial articles from the features and literary articles. The name "La Salleño" was a portmanteau of the words "La Salle" (in reference to DLSU-A (now DLSU-D)) and "Caviteño" (a term for a Cavite).

Just Play

In May 2005, the maiden issue of HF's sports magazine, Just Play (JPlay), was published. Spearheaded by John Paul Mari Abcede (sports editor, 2004–2005), it started with the analysis of the Patriots (the official athletic team of DLSU-D). On its second issue, it carried more news and features on sports and various events participated upon by the Patriots. Despite the alleged subliminality of the name, JPlay was not named after Abcede. It literally means "Just play" (in a sentence) or "just play" (adjective + noun).

Decreto

Decreto is the news and investigative journal of HF. It is circulated in tabloid form, usually as a supplement of and an insert in the broadsheet. It covers and reports on major social issues and investigative reports, and aims to encourage students to be updated on events around the country, in the perspective of their fellow students. Decreto literally means "decree" in Spanish, but may also mean "secret," "discreet," or "discrete."

In the recent issues of HF, Decreto articles are integrated in the news page as "special reports."

Palad

The literary digest, Palad, was actually planned even before LS came out. But it was only in 1993 when Palad was first published. Rosalea Macaspac (literary editor, 1993), spearheaded the release of its first issue. In her note in the digest, it reads: "Ang kahiwagaan ng palad ng bawat tao at sulak ng kanyang init—ito ang nagbibigay-buhay sa aming pagsilang" (The magic of every person's palm and the outburst of their soul—this gives life to our birth). The name Palad literally means "palm" in the Filipino language.

Alipato

Conceived in 2003 under the leadership of Jake Ofrasio (art editor, 2003–2004) and Emmanuel Cogama (photo coordinator, 2003–2004), HF's art and photo folio Alipato serves as a means to promote the visual and artistic talents of students. Though it is small in size (average size being 6" × 6"), the contents created a larger-than-life world. The name Alipato means "ember" in archaic Tagalog.

Halalan

To keep the students updated during the university election season, HF introduced Halalan in February 2002. It became the official newsletter for the university elections, featuring election-related news. It gave the students an ideal hint of whom to vote for in the elections. Halalan means "election" in the Filipino language.

Other publications

Aside from the regular publications, HF also publishes special publications, in order to give students information on special events and campus events. Such publications include newsletters (namely, the Heraldo Filipino express and the Heraldo Filipino newsletter) pamphlets, and spoof issues (the Heraldo Flip-no!).

Organizational structure

The editorial board is the governing body of HF. It is led by the Editor-in-Chief.

The publication is divided into two departments:

On the other hand, there are seven sections, namely:

Editorial board and staff

Editors are those who have passed the annual screening examinations for editors, and manage their respective sections. Coordinators possess similar powers like that of the editors, only that they are barred from voting in important decision-making situations. Grounds for coordinator positions can be by appointment and/or demotion. In charge (formerly called "Acting Coordinator") is a title designated to a staff or editor who is appointed to replace a vacant position.

Publication adviser

The publication adviser (or technical consultant, in the absence of an adviser) assists the editorial board in the final editing of copy, as well as a counsel. HF are not compelled to have an adviser. It is upon the incumbent editorial board's discretion to have a publication adviser or not. The publication adviser must also meet certain credentials and requirements.

Editorial staff

The editorial staff perform their tasks for their respective sections, as well as perform any other tasks assigned to them by the editorial board.

Issues covered

HF maintains its image as DLSU-D's watchdog, reporting mostly on the different issues encountered by the school and its constituents. One such issue was DLSU-D's university-status issue, which caused an uproar among the community. Another issue was during the 2004 student elections, when a Halalan article reported on an underground document called Bantayog, which utterly discredited some student leaders, faculty, and administrators. As a result, some of the people denounced in the Bantayog sued the writers of the article and the editorial board for "discrediting them". HF asserted that they were merely reporting on the issue, and that they have no motive to further discredit the complainants. As a result, the charges against the HF members were dropped.

Heraldo Filipino events

Aside from publishing newspapers, magazines, etc., HF also holds different seminars, contests, and events, mainly for DLSU-D students. Most of its events are held annually.

Annual events

Past events

Awards received

As a member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), HF joins in contests brought about by the said organization, and the publication was also able to bag a hefty amount of awards in the past years.

In school year 1997 to 1998, HF showed off its stuff in the 5th Regional Tertiary Schools Press Conference, winning awards such as the Best Editorial Page, Best in Page Design/Layout, and First Place in Editorial Cartooning English division in the broadsheet.

Setting off from a great start, in came another competition, this time in the 8th Regional Higher Education Press Conference in Sariaya, Quezon and from here, six awards, five of it given to the HF broadsheet, first being 4th place in Best School Paper of the Year, 2nd place in Best Cover Design, 1st Place in Best Editorial Page, and 3rd place in Best News Page and Best in Layout/Page Design. LS won 3rd place in Best Magazine.

In 2003, HF won in the 2nd Luzonwide Higher Education Press Conference, held in University of the Philippines, Los Baños, where HF, LS, and Palad won a total of 11 major awards in their respective categories. These include Best News, Editorial, Feature/Literary Pages, and Best Page Design. LS won Best Cover Design, Best News Page, 2nd Best Sports Page, 3rd Best Development Communication and Features Pages, and 3rd Best Page Design. Palad won 3rd Best Page Design.

On the same year, the official student publication also competed in the 63rd National Student Press Convention by CEGP, held in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, where it achieved two of the Gawad Ernesto Rodriguez Jr. Awards, Best Broadsheet Award, and Palad winning the Best Literary Folio.

Software used

When HF first used desktop publishing, it used Adobe PageMaker as its principal layout software. In 2006, however, the publication shifted to Adobe InDesign.

Typography

The Heraldo Filipino broadsheet (and such related publications as Halalan, Decreto, express, etc.) uses the Segoe and Gallery (a variant of Garamond) fonts for its text. Also, HF uses Segoe as its corporate and branding font. Other publications, however, use different font sets, which are subject to change every volume.