10 Years of I-Witness

MANILA, Philippines - In the ‘90s, documentaries were unheard of in the Philippine broadcast industry. The usual melodramas, talk shows and news magazine programs dominated the airwaves, raking in ratings and awards for TV networks.

Before the decade ended, GMA News and Public Affairs thought it was already time to produce a weekly documentary show. On Jan. 18, 1999, I-Witness aired on Philippine television.

However, before I-Witness even aired, its one-topic presentation and style of storytelling were deemed too slow and boring. Some even said Filipino viewers were not yet ready for this kind of program. Despite these reactions, Jessica Soho, who conceptualized the show, fought for the program’s airtime.

And I-Witness proved them all wrong.

After more than 500 documentaries, I-Witness is now the country’s longest-running late night program still airing. It has already received recognitions from both local and international award-giving bodies, including the Philippines’ first ever George Foster Peabody Award, Gold and Silver World Medals from the New York Festivals, the Asia-Pacific Child Rights Awards and the Asian TV Awards, among others.

“I-Witness has made documentaries a part of mainstream television, and inspired similar formats for other shows. It has inspired many to aspire to make documentaries and tell their own stories, because our show has demonstrated what a powerful medium the documentary is,” Howie Severino says.

“I-Witness is not called television’s finest hour for nothing.” Sandra Aguinaldo explains. “I can say every episode is one step towards excellence since we are constantly challenged by management to set the pace for late-night shows and always be creative in presenting our reports to the people.”

Howie adds that compared to other public affairs shows, I-Witness gives them more creative freedom in producing stories. “Most of our episodes don’t even have spiels by the hosts and go straight into the story, like most classically done documentaries. That alone makes I-Witness unique among public affairs shows where hosts introduce and end each show with on-camera spiels. We are not required to do that.”

Because of its radical approach to documentary production, I-Witness has always been a talk-of-the-town after each airing, sometimes even irking the attention of the censors.

This month, I-Witness will celebrate its 10th year with four special documentaries. This time, I-Witness will air documentaries produced over a longer period of time than any other series of documentaries done for any TV program in the Philippines.

Jay Taruc recently presented the docu Kristo, a graphic feature about the Senakulo, or the dramatic presentation of the Passion of the Christ in Cutud, Pampanga. Jay discovered that the person who played Christ quit his oath next year. However, residents and officers opposed the move to pass on the title because the town’s supposed successor is a self-admitted gambler and drunkard.

On Nov. 16, Sandra’s Bigatin tackles the growing problem of obesity in the Philippines. Sandra follows the plight of two obese women and documents their struggle to bring their weight down through various ways of weight reduction. Sandra joins them in their fight as she subjects herself to arduous exercises and strict diets to prepare herself for pregnancy.

Kara David delivers the third installment of the anniversary celebration with a follow-up documentary on pediatric tuberculosis on Nov. 23. Kara revisits her case studies in Hingalo ng Bunso, an I-Witness episode she produced a few months ago, and reveals whether or not their conditions improved after their stories were aired on the program.

Nov. 30 is Howie’s turn to present a docu about a transsexual’s journey to realizing her dreams of becoming a woman. Howie documents how Vincent Christar Ibardolaza, a.k.a. Plates, pulls all strings to become a “Trans-Pinay.” However, Plates still needs to pass a battery of tests which will determine if she is mentally and emotionally prepared to undergo the sex reassignment operation.