Howie Severino, Kara David, Sandra Aguinaldo, Atom Araullo share milestones and challenges of 'I-Witness'

I-Witness hosts Howie Severino, Kara David, Sandra Aguinaldo, and Atom Araullo renewed their contract with GMA Network today, October 25, just in time for the 20th anniversary of the multi-awarded Kapuso TV documentary.

In an interview with Nelson Canlas, the four hosts celebrated their show's milestones as well as expressed the challenges they face.

Howie shared how he feels fortunate to have a program like I-Witness succeed for two decades.

He said, “Noong una, nakita ko 'yung unang episode ng I-Witness, sabi ko ang tapang ng GMA na sumugal sa ganitong format, na long form, na non-fiction, na hindi pa nakikita sa telebisyon. Kaya to last this long, to me it reflects the maturity of our audience and also a commitment of GMA also to a genre that not just honors the documentary format.

“It honors our audience by giving them this kind of programming but it's also a way of honoring the history of cinema. Kasi ang documentary naman is the original cinema. It's the original form of cinema. If you know the history of cinema, the first movies were documentaries. And so this means it's part of this long and rich tradition na ipinagpapatuloy ng GMA.”

Kara, meanwhile, expressed her gratitude to the people who truly made their program a success.

She stated, “Ako ang gusto ko lang i-highlight is 'yung tagumpay ng I-Witness ay dahil sa mga taong bumubuo ng programang ito. Pero wala kasing magagawang documentary kung 'yung mga tao hindi pinagkakatiwala 'yung kanilang mga istorya sa amin. So bahagi ng 20 years ng I-Witness 'yung aming audience at 'yung aming mga case study kasi sila talaga 'yung bumubuo nitong programa na ito.

“And ako nagpapasalamat ako doon sa mga taong pinagkatiwala nila 'yung kanilang istorya sa amin kasi hindi lang sila 'yung nabago ng I-Witness eh, kami rin nabago rin kami ng kanilang mga buhay. Imagine 'yung every month may makikilala ka, makikipamuhay ka sa ibang community. 'Di ba, every month for the past 20 years, parang sobrang laking learning experience noon. And ako personally, nagbago 'yung aking buhay. Mas lumawak 'yung aking kamalayan at pagmamalasakit sa iba dahil doon sa mga istorya namin sa I-Witness.”

For Sandra and Atom, the challenge for the next years or even decades is for them to continue delivering relevant stories to their audience.

Sandra said, “Dahil 20 years na 'yung I-Witness, maraming mga kuwento na first time napanood ng tao sa I-Witness. So it's a challenge for us na patuloy maghanap ng kuwentong ganoon. Kung minsan mahirap pero gusto ko pa rin makapag-present sa tao ng mga kuwento na first time nilang mapapanood sa national TV.”

Atom agreed, saying, “Merong feeling ng responsibility. Ang tagal na nung programa, ang dami nang mga batikang mamamahayag na dumaan dito, and it's almost like we have to carry the torch for the next 10 or 20 years. And ako I hope that I-Witness stays relevant especially doon sa younger audience and sabi nga ni Sandra, mahanap namin 'yung mga istorya na talagang kukurot sa kanilang mga puso.”

Joining Howie, Kara, Sandra and Atom at their contract renewal were Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, President and COO Gilberto Duavit Jr., SVP for News and Public Affairs Marissa Flores, I-Witness Program Manager Joy Madrigal, and Public Affairs First Vice President Nessa Valdellon.