I-Witness: 20 years of life-changing stories

I-WITNESS: 20 YEARS OF LIFE-CHANGING STORIES 

I-Witness premiered on Philippine television at the turn of the millennium. It was a time of uncertainty in a changing world, and GMA News and Public Affairs saw the need to tell stories of truth through the documentary format. Twenty years since, I-Witness has become one of the leading TV documentary programs in the country, with over 1,000 life-changing stories that have pursued the truth about Filipino values, culture, current events, and the human condition. 

Throughout its run, I-Witness has earned the respect of journalists and viewers all over the world for its dedication to facing challenging truths. It won the Philippines’ first George Foster Peabody Award in its inaugural year, with Jessica Soho’s groundbreaking stories, “Kamao” and “Kidneys for Sale”. The program won a second Peabody in 2010 for Kara David's, "Ambulansyang de Paa," making it the only program to win two trophies from the prestigious award-giving body. I-Witness has continued to be recognized internationally with awards from the ABU/CASBAA UNICEF Child Rights Award (“Selda Inosente” and “Bata-k”, Kara David; “Batang CP”, Jay Taruc), the New York Festivals (“Askal”, Vicky Morales; “Sabah: Sex Slaves”, Maki Pulido; “Boy Pusit”, Sandra Aguinaldo; “Ganito Kami Noong Martial Law”, Howie Severino; etc.), and the U.S. International Film and Video Festivals (“Buto’t Balat”, Kara David; “Iskul Ko No. 1”, Sandra Aguinaldo; “Busal”, Howie Severino; “Silang Kinalimutan”, Atom Araullo, etc.), among others. It is also a regular winner in local awards such as the Catholic Mass Media Awards, the PMPC Star Awards for Television, the Gandingan Awards of UP Los Baños, and more.
 
I-Witness’ greatest strength, however, lies beyond critical acclaim. The program’s longevity has allowed its hosts and viewers to continually follow the narratives of subjects who have touched lives across generations. On its 20th anniversary, I-Witness hosts Kara David, Atom Araullo, Sandra Aguinaldo, and Howie Severino learn how conditions have changed, if at all, in some of the program’s most memorable stories since they were first told.
 
Kara David, known for her compassion and empathy towards the youth, travels to three provinces to reunite with former subjects, once children who have had to bear the incredible burden of poverty and dangerous labor at a tender age. Now that they are teenagers and young adults, how have they risen above the struggles that plagued their childhoods?
 
Atom Araullo faces issues in housing head on, nearly 40 years since the establishment of the National Housing Authority. With rapidly increasing urban development, how have the less privileged residents of Manila survived despite lacking one of their most basic needs? I-Witness searches for answers through the lives of those who first faced this struggle many years ago.
 
Sandra Aguinaldo has led I-Witness in confronting issues on education, from the triumphs of exceptional schools and teachers, to glaring concerns in access, quality, and resources. This year, she and her team question the state of Philippine education today, through the stories of a school in a conflict-ridden community and a young woman who continues to change her family’s life through education.
 
Howie Severino, who has advocated for the environment protection through many of his documentaries, returns to Isabela more than ten years since first witnessing attempts to end illegal logging in the province. In a time of global warming and the ruthless depletion of natural resources, the state of the largest protected area in the Philippines reminds us of an urgent issue that concerns us all.
 
I-Witness airs its 20th anniversary specials on all Saturdays of November, beginning November 2, with a special feature on past and present hosts of I-Witness and the remarkable stories they have followed through the years.
 
Don’t miss I-Witness Saturdays, after Studio 7 on GMA 7.

 
Filipino version:
 
Nagsimula ang I-Witness noong 1999 --- panahon ng pag-aalinlangan at walang katiyakan sa nagbabagong mundo.  Sa ganitong panahon binuo ng GMA News and Public Affairs ang isang programa na magkukuwento ng katotohanan sa pamamagitan ng dokumentaryo: ang I-Witness.  Pagkatapos ng dalawang dekada, ang I-Witness ay isa sa mga nangungunang documentary program sa bansa.  Mahigit isang libong istorya na ang naipalabas ng programa, mga kuwento na nagpapakita ng mga kaugaliang Pilipino, kultura, mga isyu, at kalagayan ng mga taong hindi gaanong naabot ng gobyerno.??
 
Patuloy na nagdadala ng karangalan sa bansa ang I-Witness.  Ang “Kamao” at “Kidneys for Sale” ni Jessica Soho ang nagdala sa bansa ng unang George Foster Peabody Award.  Sinundan ito ng “Ambulandsyang de Paa” ni Kara David.  Kinilala rin ang I-Witness ng ibang international award-giving bodies.  Kabilang dito ang mga award mula sa ABU/CASBAA UNICEF Child Rights Award (“Selda Inosente” and “Bata-k”, Kara David; “Batang CP”, Jay Taruc), the New York Festivals (“Askal”, Vicky Morales; “Sabah: Sex Slaves”, Maki Pulido; “Boy Pusit”, Sandra Aguinaldo; “Ganito Kami Noong Martial Law”, Howie Severino; etc.), at ang U.S. International Film and Video Festivals (“Buto’t Balat”, Kara David; “Iskul Ko No. 1”, Sandra Aguinaldo; “Busal”, Howie Severino; “Silang Kinalimutan”, Atom Araullo, etc.).
 
Sa ika-20 taong anibersaryo ng I-Witness ngayong Nobyembre, samahan sina Kara David, Sandra, Atom Araullo, at Howie Severino na balikan ang mga lumang dokumentaryo na nagtatalakay ng iba’t ibang isyu para alamin kung may mga pagbabago sa paglipas ng panahon.
 
Sa November 2 na ang unang anniversary episode ng I-Witness, kung saan mapapanood ang mga dating host ng programa at ang mga hindi nila malilimutang dokyu.   Mapapanood ang I-Witness sa GMA tuwing Sabado, pagkatapos ng Studio 7.