The Most Eligible:
Atom Araullo

Atom Araullo may be one of the youngest in the lot but the multi-hyphenated and well decorated broadcast journalist proves that beyond his good looks and boyish charm, he has what it takes to affect the media landscape.

Words by Cherry Sun

Photos by Jojit Lorenzo, I-Witness, Stand for Truth, Atom Araullo (Instagram)

A TV blooper-turned-staring game that left hundreds, if not thousands, of ladies swooning over him.

A "brave man" on the streets of Tacloban drenched and threatened by the Super typhoon Yolanda in the middle of his news coverage.

A promising actor in the noir crime drama movie, Citizen Jake, directed by Mike de Leon.

This is how most of us have to come to know Atom Araullo.

He is undeniably among the most sought-after bachelors today. But more than his boyish charms, he proves he is also among the most eligible in the field of news journalism.

Dreaming and exploring

Before he became the perfect every–woman's-dream-of-a-husband, Atom, or Alfonso Tomas Pagaduan Araullo, was first seen on TV as a scrawny, braces-wearing kid goofing around in 5 and Up, the defunct informative show headlined by kid reporters aged 9 to 12.

He recalls, “I became one of the reporters or hosts of that program and through that experience medyo kumbaga I was entranced by the media life, you know the excitement of discovering something new, meeting interesting people, going to exotic places, and being able to make a story out of that, and sharing that with a wide audience.

“It was an amazing experience for me. And more than that, it’s really seeing how things are done behind the scenes; preparing for a shoot, being in the field, and also seeing how the stories put together. I found that quite magical.”

It comes as no surprise that a 10-year-old boy would be inclined to be part of a telemagazine program.

The youngest child of a middle-class family, Atom was born to parents who both studied at the University of the Philippines Diliman and who were both activists. While he describes his childhood as "uneventful," he was born in 1982, a period of political turmoil in the country because of the Martial Law.

“I think during that time, that was the decade when politically and socially things were kind of topsy-turvy. So I grew up with that kind of consciousness. So I think that basically is one of the main influences of my childhood; seeing the world through the eyes of my parents who were both socially aware and politically active,” he shares.

His experiences as a kid actually laid the foundations for his current career.

Aside from his exposure through his parents and his training via 5 and Up, Atom has always been a curious and inquisitive person.

" Somewhere off the coast of Aurora, circa 2005 (I think), before Instagram filters. Photo by @pinaytraveller :) "

-@atomaraullo (IG)

After the last show of the musical 'Elias at Salome' in 1996, Atom hammed it up for the camera with Tin Armonio, one of his co-actors in Dulaang UP, the official performing group for theater of the University of the Philippines.

“When I was younger, I was more of becoming an explorer in a broad sense kasi nanonood ako ng nature documentaries noon.

"One of my heroes was Sir David Attenborough. So tinanong ko sa parents ko, ‘Ano ba trabaho ni David Attenborough?’ He’s an anthropologist. So parang, ‘Ah okay, I want to be an anthropologist.’ Or maybe a biologist or marine biologist. So nag-evolve din siya over time. And then you know I found later on na actually bukod sa pagiging anthropologist or marine biologist, 'yung gumagawa ng documentary mismo, trabaho din 'yun. So ‘Ahh, baka gusto ko maging documentarist or filmmaker or whatever,” he recalls his childhood dream.

Moreover, Atom was very active in sports. In fact, when he was just three or four years old, he and his older sister Sandra used to participate in competitive swimming.

He says, “So from an early age, that kind of discipline was instilled in me and the values that you learn in sports is something that is very important and is something that I carried on and is still quite useful nowadays.”

Atom says that his interests changed when "life got in the way."

He moved on to studying in the Philippine Science High School. In college, he enrolled in BS Applied Physics in UP Diliman. And after graduating with a science degree, he worked in the academe.

“So medyo nalimutan ko rin ‘yung ganung pangarap ko noong bata ako. Kumbaga, nagbago na ‘yung aking pananaw sa mundo pero serendipity ba 'yun or whatever it is, bumalik din ako sa media,” the GMA reporter continues.

Seeing the reality

Atom eventually resumed media work and his childhood dream, which he once put on hold, began to materialize.

While he felt his stint at 5 and Up laid the groundwork for this profession, he found himself struggling at the start.

“Noong simula mahirap kasi hindi naman ako nag-aral ng journalism or broadcasting for that matter," he admits.

"So I had to learn everything on the job; how to news-gather, how to write stories, how to edit, how to do the voiceovers. So siyempre noong simula parang nangangapa pa ako tapos mga pangit pa ‘yung istorya ko kasi hindi ko naman alam paano siya ginagawa eh,” he laughs abashedly.

“Pero I learned to love the job,” he quickly adds.

Though Atom now basks in praises, with accolades even awarded from abroad, he was not exempted from bouts of uncertainty and doubts. It led him into thinking if he was in the right job.

He confesses in an honest-to-goodness demeanor, “Oo naman, oo naman. Sino bang hindi? At various stages, you kind of reflect and ask yourself, ‘Is this really what I want to do?’ ‘Do I have a future here?’ That never really goes away. The feeling just becomes more or less intense, depending on where you are in your career.

"But yeah I mean, at certain stages I considered going back to the academe, studying again. Pero something comes up and you kind of continue, you kind of explore that option and then before you know it, it’s been 10 years. Magpi-15 years na nga ngayon. That’s how you get roped in.”

According to Atom, he dealt with challenges one day at a time.

“At various stages, you kind of reflect and ask yourself, ‘Is this really what I want to do?’ ‘Do I have a future here?’ That never really goes away.”

The now tenured broadcast journalist further states, “You wake up one day and 10 years have gone. You tell yourself there must be a reason why I stuck around. ‘Cause the job isn’t exactly easy. There are many reasons for you to quit.

"If you do stick around, it kind of means something to you. The job is something that you feel is worth doing. I think that’s kind of rare. Not everyone is lucky enough to find something that they are very passionate about. So why throw that away?”

He returned to GMA, his home network, in 2017. Because of this career move, he faced intrigues and the reporter became the subject of news.

“I was a bit embarrassed that there was such a brouhaha around the whole thing. People leave work or transfer to another company all the time. So why should my case be any different? Why should it be any more special? I couldn’t wait for the tension to go away,” he says with a laugh, shrugging off the incident like any other transfers done between other companies.

“Of course I wouldn’t transfer networks if I didn’t believe in the people also that are heading the News and Public Affairs department. Many of them are people that I know from my work in Probe Productions before. I wanted to work with them also and see what else I can learn.”

He looks up to a lot of GMA broadcast journalists, his colleagues in I-Witness and the pillars of the News and Public Affairs included. He adds that being in the same league with them pressures and inspires him to produce quality stories.

But this young man does not disappoint and has, in fact, established his own prolific resume.

His return to the Kapuso network debuted via the special documentary ‘Philippine Seas’ which won international awards. He has also been recognized through his other programs namely, I-Witness, The Atom Araullo Specials, and Stand for Truth.

“It’s been great. I’m really lucky to have so many opportunities to tell stories and explore different styles of story-telling. Like I said earlier, I’m lucky to work with some of the best people in the industry. It’s still getting better. I’m happy that I’m also able to contribute and to give my two cents about the kind of stories that we do or the identity of a program and so on. Bukas ‘yung ganung klaseng channels,” he expresses with an air of humility and satisfaction.

Coming full circle

Atom’s success in his chosen field had trade-offs. Finding time for his other passions and interests remains a constant struggle as he keeps up with the fast-paced life of news reporting especially in the digital age.

He admits, “Kailangan talaga ng balance, hindi pwede kasi na puro trabaho. Hindi naman pwede na puro bakasyon, obviously. Bilang mamamahayag, we have to take care of ourselves, we have to take care of our body. We have to make sure that we’re healthy.

"For very practical reasons, like for example you have to climb a mountain, you have to be fit. You have to make sure you’re not endangering the lives of your crew by being a liability. So even though we’re very busy, you have to prioritize your fitness. You have to eat well. I struggle with that. You have to continue doing physical activities. Medyo mahirap din for me kasi sometimes I’m gone weeks at a time ‘di ba?

“You also have to take care of developing other facets of your personality. I mean I used to be more active in other pursuits. You know, like, I used to play the flute. I did all sorts of things. Now not as much pero I’ve been meaning to really find a nice hobby to do para lang to balance things out. You have to continue reading. Kasi otherwise hindi ka rin tatagal.”

Does he think the give and take of his career is worth it?

“Sometimes I wonder,” he says, briefly laughing,

“It’s not an easy thing to answer. I guess we all make sacrifices. And I don’t want to make it appear that parang I’m some kind of savior dahil I’m making all of these sacrifices in the name of journalism.

"I think that people make sacrifices all the time but it’s a personal decision and it has nothing to do with the professional career,” he says, putting his answer in context.

"I think that people make sacrifices all the time but it’s a personal decision and it has nothing to do with the professional career,"

Atom explains that he doesn’t fret about it because he has found something he loves doing.

He says, “It certainly helps that I like this job and that I believe it has a potential to really contribute something to society. That’s why even when you do sacrifices parang you understand why you’re doing it and you don’t resent yourself dahil sa nawawalan ka na ng oras minsan.”

Being media man is more than just a job for Atom. For him, it personally means getting to play both the witness and the actor in the relevant and prevailing developments in society.

He says, “I just wanted to have a front row seat to history unfolding. Medyo na-excite ako kapag may mga nangyayari tapos trabaho ko na magpunta doon at alamin kung ano ba talaga ‘yung nagaganap. Parang ang galing ‘di ba? Sino ba ang merong ganung pagkakataon?

"Siguro ultimately if I really think about it, I want to make stories that make people think and encourage them also to act and to see the bigger picture and what their place is in everything.”

“Dahil there’s nothing quite like it. There’s nothing quite like journalism, or being a reporter. Like every day is something different. It’s challenging, it’s tiring, it’s stressful. But at the end of the day, it’s very fulfilling. So you keep doing it. There’s always something new on the horizon 'cause you don’t quite know what’s going to happen the next day. And yeah, obviously it’s a huge privilege to be able to talk to millions of people through the television. It’s good.”

Atom, along with other broadcast journalists, carries the weight of being a stalwart of truth and a responsible communicator of balanced information. And with the current political climate – reminiscent of the tumultuous period of his growing up years, this may appear as a burden, a Herculean task.

He acknowledges this, saying, “It’s a sign of the times. Each generation of journalist or reporter faces their own unique set of challenges. And it just so happens that I am a product of this current milieu. In this generation what we do have is a changing media landscape because of social media, because of the internet, because of the different ways people get to use that to their advantage, and also the other ways where people are able to use it for personal gain. It comes with the territory.

“I think there’s no reason to moan about it. We just have to face it head on. It’s a constant struggle I guess to earn the trust of the audience and to also make sure you are a positive force in the age of misinformation. Pero lahat naman 'yun, produkto lang 'yun ng iba-ibang problema ng lipunan natin. 'Di ba 'yun naman ang trabaho ng mamamahayag, ilahad ‘yung mga problemang 'yun?” he adds, brushing off the pressure as but a common duty.

With such an attitude, one couldn’t help but grow curious at what else Atom wants to accomplish.

He rather keeps the answer to himself. He smiles coyly, his eyes glimmering with enigmatic resolve, “Secret. Sa akin na muna 'yun.”

Time can only tell, and it will be our turn to witness the coming of age of this generation’s most eligible, Atom Araullo.

“I just wanted to have a front row seat to history unfolding. Medyo na-excite ako kapag may mga nangyayari tapos trabaho ko na magpunta doon at alamin kung ano ba talaga ‘yung nagaganap. Parang ang galing ‘di ba?"

The Most Eligible:Atom Araullo

The Most Eligible:
Atom Araullo