I - Witness June 22, 2009 Episode

I - Witness June 22, 2009 Episode.Jay Taruc, Kara David, Sandra Aguinaldo and Howie Severino … their names stand out among the Philippine journalists of today. Each brings a distinct voice and trademark focus to his documentaries. For Kara David, what touches viewers most is her emotional connection with her subjects, for Jay Taruc it is the willingness to immerse in order to truly understand a situation, for Sandra Aguinaldo it is the danger she braves to get her story, for Howie Severino it is how he finds inspiration and insight in deceptively simple topics.


Together, they make up the Dream Team of the country's pioneering documentary program I-Witness … a show which, on its 9th anniversary, is still clearly on the cutting edge of local TV.



In 1999, I-Witness became the country’s first full-length documentary program, showing an hour of non-fiction story-telling on a single topic. From its previous confinement in the Philippines to select movie theaters and universities, the documentary format moved to salas and bedrooms anywhere there was a television. This was several years before the documentary’s current international heyday. Back then, it was a gamble by the network and a test of the viewing audience’s patience and concentration.

Today the show that wasn’t expected to last is one of the longest running public affairs shows on Philippine television, the highest rating late night public affairs program as well as the most internationally awarded show in the country.

I-Witness was just ahead of its time. Today docu workshops, contests and festivals are mushrooming in the Philippines, including the almost monthly I-Witness documentary festivals that GMA stages in universities, high schools and sometimes even commercial theaters. The screenings are packed and followed by panel discussions on everything from the docu’s topic to the role of scoring in a documentary. I-Witness is one of the few TV shows that easily transfer to the big screen.