After 'overwhelming' response to Philippine Seas docu, Atom ready to join i-Witness

Atom Araullo welcomed the positive feedback to his first-ever documentary with GMA Public Affairs, "Philippine Seas," the product of a 10-day expedition around the country.

In an interview with GMA News Online on Friday, Araullo said that the response to his project has been heartening especially after the hard work that went into creating it.

"It's overwhelming and I'm very happy that people responded so positively to the documentary," he said.

He added that seeing for himself the wonders and dangers of the country's rich underwater life was a different experience, despite his familiarity with the issues.

"Even though I'm familiar with a lot of the issues that were discussed in the documentary, it's really different seeing it firsthand and actually talking to fishermen that were adversely affected by the crisis...I'm just glad to be able to share that with the public and hopefully we can do more, and it's really nice to get that kind of response after many days of hard work," he said.

After his documentary's success, Araullo will join the team of the GMA Public Affairs documentary program, i-Witness.

"Ang tagal na ng i-Witness. 18 years, 1999. Bata pa ko nun, napapanood ko na yung i-Witness. Marami nang batikan at magagaling na mamamahayag na naging bahagi ng i-Witness kaya syempre sino ba naman ang hindi magagalak na maging bahagi ng team na ito," he said.

Araullo will kick off his i-Witness adventures with a topic that he says is close to his heart: the crisis of the Rohingya people, who were persecuted and forced to flee from their homes in Myanmar.

Araullo is a special advocate for the United Nations Commission for Refugees (UNHRC).

"What an opportunity to start my work in i-Witness by doing this very important story that's close to my heart," he added.

Araullo's i-Witness documentary on the Rohingya crisis, "Silang Kinalimutan," will air on GMA Network on December 2, after Celebrity Bluff. —JST, GMA News