"Dokyu" Critic #1: Prof. Danilo Araña Arao

Prof. Danilo Araña Arao will be one of the three distinguished critics when "Dokyu: Ang Bagong Mata ng Pinoy Documentaries" returns on ABC 5 starting May 18, Friday, 10 p.m. "Dokyu" will now be a competition program, in different levels or categories. For the first season it will be a student documentary competition.

Prof. Arao is an assistant professor of the Department of Journalism at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) in Diliman, Quezon City. He is currently a member of the Board of Editors of "Bulatlat," a weekly online news magazine. He also writes a column for "Pinoy Weekly," a tabloid in Filipino.

Prof. Arao was a finalist in the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism (Explanatory category) for his article published in "Pinoy Weekly" (July 23-29, 2003) titled "Ang Petron, deregulasyon at desperasyon. " He co-authored a book in 1997 published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) titled "The Electronic Trail: Computer-Assisted Research and Reporting in the Philippines" which was shortlisted in the 1998 National Book Awards (Journalism category).

In 2004, Prof. Arao wrote a chapter on mass media and the elections in the book "Subverting the People's Will: The May 10, 2004 Elections" published by the Center for People Empowerment in Governnance (CenPEG). He served as project leader of "Citizens' Media Monitor: A Report on the Campaign and Elections Coverage in the Philippines 2004" published by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). In 2006, he wrote the paper titled "Tracing
the Roots of Killings of Journalists" which was included in the book "Kontra-Gahum: Academics Against Political Killings" published by IBON Foundation.

From April 2004 to February 2006, Prof. Arao was a co-host and scriptwriter of the award-winning radio program "Ngayon Na, Bayan!" every Friday, 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. (DZRJ 810 khz AM station). Prior to teaching fulltime at UP, he was editor-in-chief (1994-1999) and head of research (2000-2001) of IBON Foundation, an independent research think-tank. He also taught Political Science part-time at the De La Salle University (DLSU) from 1993 to 1995.

Prof. Arao will preview all "Dokyu" finalists and judge them based on the criteria formulated by the "Dokyu" circle. Winners will be determined by way of 50 percent text voting/ranking and 50 percent critics' rating. Each episode will include a critic's review of the featured documentaries to guide viewers in evaluating the work.

"Dokyu" has been highly acclaimed for providing incentives as well as an exhibition platform for independent documentary filmmakers, both professionals and amateurs/students. "Dokyu" has been recognized by award-giving bodies including the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA).

Prof. Danilo Araña Arao | Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala | Eduardo Doronila Lingao