Atom Araullo's feature for GMA News Online a finalist in SOPA Awards

Atom Araullo has been named a finalist in the Society of Publishers Asia 2019 Awards for Editorial Excellence for his feature story on GMA News Online.

His piece "Tiempo Muerto: Hope Springs in the Season of Death" is a finalist in the Excellence in Feature Writing category of the awards.

"Tiempo Muerto," adapted from his I-Witness documentary of the same title, follows the story of farm workers in a sugarcane plantation in Batangas as they struggle with backbreaking work ahead of the dead season, when their opportunity to make a living grinds to a halt. The hand to mouth existence leaves farm workers extremely vulnerable to the cruel twists of fate.

READ NOW: Tiempo Muerto: Hope Springs in the Season of Death

The story highlights the plight of agricultural workers in the Philippines, who remain some of the poorest members of society. It is rooted in a more fundamental problem: persistent landlessness among farmers.

The SOPA Awards "were established in 1999 as a tribute to editorial excellence in both traditional and new media, and were designed to encourage editorial vitality throughout the region." —JST, GMA News