Eco-docu Oras Na finalist in the 2012 Int'l URTI Awards

MANILA, Philippines - There’s a reason why deadlines are called deadlines  the cost of not being able to meet them may be deadly. And in what could be one of Philippine television’s most ambitious productions, the GMA News and Public Affairs environmental documentary Oras Na, viewers were presented with the possible grim consequences of failing to respond to the so-called environmental deadlines.

Oras Na was selected as one of the 10 finalists for the 31st International Union Radiophonique et Télévisuelle Internationale (URTI) Grand Prix for Author’s Documentary.

The 60-minute special is the fourth environmental documentary hosted by Richard Gutierrez. In recent years, GMA News and Public Affairs has produced other relevant and award-winning documentaries including Signos, Planet Philippines and Wildlife for Sale.

Oras Na took many months in the making to give viewers the never-before-seen impact of ecological exploitations from the most remote to the highly urbanized areas in the country. These exploitations mirror what some scientists consider as the planet’s most crucial environmental deadlines.

Through time lapse filming, the documentary presented visual evidence of the degradation of the country’s rainforests, shortage of clean water, the significant decline of fossil fuels, and the looming collapse of marine resources due to over harvesting and destructive fishing. If scientific estimates are correct, vital resources could run out within the current generation — from the year 2025 to the year 2050.

Angeli Atienza, program manager for Oras Na, shares her thoughts on the film’s recent nomination: “We are honored that Oras Na (It’s Time) has been chosen as one of this year’s finalists at the URTI awards. We’ve always believed that Oras Na is an important documentary that each Filipino should watch.”