| name | phtools-content-voice |
| description | Write and rewrite PHTools tool articles and blog guides (src/content/blog/*.mdx) in a human, subject-expert voice that survives AdSense quality review. Use when authoring or editing any MDX guide, writing tool explanation/FAQ content, or when the user mentions the writing audit, AI-sounding copy, citing Philippine laws, or making content "feel human." |
PHTools Content Voice
The blog MDX files in src/content/blog/ are dual-purpose: they render at /blog/[slug] and as the explainer article under the matching calculator (via ToolArticle). One rewrite fixes both surfaces. Reference standard already written in this voice: salary-tax-deductions-guide.mdx, income-tax-brackets-2026.mdx, how-to-compute-sss-pension.mdx.
The voice: five fixes that kill the "AI smell"
- Convert label-bullets back to prose.
You pay: 5% / Employer pays: 10% is data, not writing. Say it in a sentence with the why. Keep lists only for genuine reference data (bracket tables, multiplier matrices) and prefer a Markdown table for those.
- No em dashes. Use commas, periods, parentheses, or semicolons. This is the single loudest tell.
- Ramble like an expert. Each section volunteers the one edge case a practitioner actually cares about, often with a concrete peso scenario. Examples that worked: the binding ₱35,000 SSS MSC ceiling, the PhilHealth ₱10,000 floor catching probationary hires, the marginal-bracket myth, the AMSC "last 5 years" asymmetry, separation pay applying only to authorized causes.
- No brochure CTAs. Delete "Stop Guessing, Start Calculating," "Instant Accuracy / Zero Privacy Risk / Mobile Optimized," and exclamation-mark enthusiasm. Link to the tool plainly inside a sentence.
- First-person solo-dev authority + a humble close. Write as someone who reads the primary sources and builds the tool. Do not invent a backstory (no fictional payroll-manager job). End with a quiet correction note: if a number is wrong, that is on me, tell me (link
/about).
Tone target: how sweldoph.com and lawyers write. Nuance over symmetry. Professional, not peppy.
Cite laws and data with verified, live links
Whenever you name a specific law, rate, or figure, hyperlink the primary source, and confirm it returns HTTP 200 before committing. Verify with:
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -L --max-time 20 -A "Mozilla/5.0" "<url>"
Use lawphil.net for statutes (reliable 200). Avoid linking officialgazette.gov.ph and dole.gov.ph as citations: both bot-block (403), so they cannot be verified. For DOLE topics, cite the Labor Code on lawphil (it is the primary source anyway).
Verified citation table (re-check before reuse):
Agency homepages (200, fine for "live schedule" links): bir.gov.ph, sss.gov.ph, philhealth.gov.ph, pagibigfund.gov.ph. Keep the 2026 rates accurate per CLAUDE.md Section 3.
MDX mechanics
- Tables work because both
MDXRemote renderers (ToolArticle.tsx, blog/[slug]/page.tsx) pass remarkPlugins: [remarkGfm] and define themed table/th/td. Use standard GFM pipe tables for reference data.
- Frontmatter must use
description (not excerpt); it is read by src/lib/mdx.ts and shown as the subtitle and in SEO. Keep title and date.
- Edited date + changelog are mandatory on every edit (see
.cursor/rules/mdx-editing.mdc): set updatedAt: "YYYY-MM-DD" to today, and prepend a dated one-line entry to a ## Changelog section kept as the last section of the file (newest first, never delete past entries, h2 not ###).
- Visuals where applicable: use
<MdxChart type="bar|line|area|pie" data={[...]} x="name" series={[{key,label,color}]} valuePrefix="₱" caption="..."/> (registered in both renderers; colors accept tokens primary/green/red/amber/teal/indigo or hex) and standard markdown images. Don't force a chart where prose is clearer.
- Authority signal where credible: outbound credibility reads as human expertise. Where genuinely warranted, embed a real authority's explainer with
<YouTube id="<11-char-id>" title="..."/> (privacy-friendly, lazy, registered in both renderers), recommend a real book with a one-line personal aside, or link a complementary tool with a short "kudos to the devs" note. Verified, real items only, pulled from research/deep-research-authority-prompt.md output; never fabricate a video ID, ISBN, or channel, and don't force one onto every article.
## Sources is mandatory and always last before ## Changelog: list the primary references as live links (verify HTTP 200). This consolidates the inline citations into one authority block.- No leading
# H1 in the body. ToolArticle already renders the title as an h2; a body H1 duplicates it.
<AdBanner dataAdSlot="..." /> stays: place ~2 per article between sections (required for AdSense, per Section 4).
Article skeleton
---
title: "..."
description: "Human, specific, keyword-aware. Not a generic blurb."
date: "YYYY-MM-DD"
---
[Opening: a concrete scenario or the one misconception this guide fixes. First person.]
<AdBanner dataAdSlot="..." />
## [Section framed as an insight, not a label]
[Prose with the why and one expert edge case. Hyperlink the governing law.]
<AdBanner dataAdSlot="..." />
### [A real question someone asks]
[Prose answer.]
[A chart/image where it genuinely clarifies, e.g. <MdxChart .../>]
[Humble correction-note close, link /about.]
* [Related Tool 1](/...)
* [Related Tool 2](/...)
* [Related Tool 3](/...)
## Sources
- [Primary law or agency reference](https://lawphil.net/...)
- [Official rate schedule](https://www.sss.gov.ph/)
## Changelog
- **YYYY-MM-DD** — What changed in this edit.
- **YYYY-MM-DD** — Initial publication.
Before / after
Before (AI smell): label-bullets, no source, fake enthusiasm.
Your SSS contribution is essentially a mandatory pension fund. The rate is 15%.
- You pay: 5%
- Your Employer pays: 10%
After (this voice): prose, edge case, verified citation.
Under the Social Security Act of 2018 (RA 11199) you carry 5% and your employer 10%. The more useful fact is the ceiling: once your salary crosses ₱35,000 your contribution simply stops growing. I have watched a friend get a ₱6,000 raise and assume payroll erred when their SSS line did not move. It is the binding MSC cap, working as designed.
Pre-publish checklist
