Atom Araullo seeks answers to questions people have about national issues

In this age of rapidly spreading misinformation, it’s a great relief to have a journalist like Atom Araullo whose fact-based journalism serves as a beacon of hope.

Currently part of the GMA News and Public Affairs team, Atom never falters in seeking and reporting the truth, resisting pressures to serve special interests, and always valuing human dignity.

Many of the stories featured in his documentary programs served as eye-openers to the public about the struggles of some of our kababayan in the Metro and in remote areas of the country. Through his shows on GMA and its social media platforms, more audiences are becoming aware of the realities of Filipino life and society’s goings-on.

His views on national issues, such as corruption and the people involved, show his strong desire to hold those responsible accountable.

“I have a very strong opinion about this. I truly believe in the importance of good governance and accountability,” said Atom when he recently sat down for “The Talk” segment of “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda.” “It’s undeniable that there is widespread corruption, involving billions of pesos. And the most disheartening part is that this is just the latest in a long series of exposés, and nothing has changed.”

“So, I am absolutely 100 percent with ordinary people when they say they’re sick and tired already about it. Gusto namin na may managot,” he added.

In his job, Atom performs his duties impartially, even when he strongly disagrees with the subject. His goal is to find answers to the many questions people have about national issues and provide additional information that best serves the public interest. As a journalist, he explained, he must always stand for the truth.

Acknowledging the realities of the profession, Atom spoke candidly about the challenges of the job. “There’s physical risk. I covered severe typhoons that left a mark on my body of work, and there were also delicate topics that were against the powerful, for example, very influential politicians, very big corporations or about insurgency. Very sensitive ‘yan kasi nakaranas tayo ng binash (tayo), so you understand it’s part of the territory, but of course, it’s scary sometimes, especially when it’s (bashing) consistent and nonstop.”

The broadcast journo with the author and host of GMA’s ‘Fast Talk with Boy Abunda.’

What makes his workload a bit lighter is meeting people who can still smile through hardship and ask for a selfie with him during his coverage.

“It’s amusing because no matter how serious the situation was or how sad it was to see their flooded homes, they still managed to smile. What an amazing character we, Filipinos, have — we can always find a reason to smile, be happy na minsan kahit doon sa simpleng, they see somebody on TV, na nandoon ka, so why not (have a selfie with them). We try to accommodate everyone pero ‘pag work time na, work time talaga,” he said.

His many experiences covering human stories inspired the award-winning journalist to write and release a book titled A View From The Ground, which took eight years to complete. It is his first collection of narrative journalism pieces he covered over the years with GMA and contains photos he took himself.

“It focuses on the lives of people in the margins (of society), which is what I wanted to do, and it showcases some of the photography I’ve done for stories.”

Atom burst into laughter when I asked him if he was aware that he was handsome. While he replied in the positive, Atom confirmed that he described himself as “torpe” in his past interview.

“Hindi ko alam (bakit), mahiyain lang talaga ko in general. Less so now kasi parang wala naman akong choice dahil I do these things na kailangan na maka-develop ng some level of comfort,” he said.

He added that his shyness also led his parents to enroll him in a children’s theater during his elementary school days at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Atom during the launch of his first book with National Artists Ricky Lee (left) and Virgilio Almario

“It was a way to kind of get out of my shell kasi medyo mahiyain akong bata. So, my parents decided to enroll me in the children’s theater para magkaroon ng kaibigan, magkaroon ng confidence. But because of my theater experience, I did productions in UP also. I also did some, uso pa noon ‘yung telesine with direk Jeffrey Jeturian. But these things that I did as a kid, hindi naman s’ya parang naging trajectory into something bigger,” he recalled.

In 2018, Atom played the title role in Mike de Leon’s “Citizen Jake” and co-wrote its screenplay.

Atom made his TV debut via the infotainment program “5 & Up” in 1992. He was pleasantly surprised when I told him that “5 & Up” was one of the shows I handled when I was still a publicist. That was many years ago, yet I still remember how adorable he was on- and off-screen.

He never had a girlfriend during high school and college because, according to him, he was having so much fun doing different things.

“I had a lot of friends — both girls and boys — so the idea of having a girlfriend really wasn’t something that I was looking for.”

Atom admitted he is currently in a romantic relationship, without revealing her name. They have been a couple for some time now.

“She is public. I think people on social media know.”

Is he thinking about settling down?

“That’s always in someone’s mind when they’re in a serious relationship. So, definitely it’s something that you think about, something that you are ready for, but I’m not setting a deadline or timeline for it.”

But is she? “I hope so,” Atom replied.