Atom Araullo urges graduates to be ‘the right kind of difficult’

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — In an era of disinformation, growing inequalities, and deepening political divisions, award-winning journalist Atom Araullo dared graduates of the University of the Philippines Baguio to be “difficult to fool, difficult to buy, difficult to discourage, and difficult to turn indifferent.”

Araullo delivered the message during UP Baguio’s 24th Commencement Exercises, where he spoke about dreams, failure, ambition, journalism, and the importance of standing up for principles even when doing so is difficult.

“I hope you become difficult,” he told the graduating Class of 2026.

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“But I don’t mean difficult in the sense of being impossible to work with. Not rude. Not performative. Not contrarian for clout. I mean the right kind of difficult.”

‘Be difficult to fool’

Araullo urged graduates to sharpen their critical thinking, saying the country is living in a time when truth increasingly feels “optional.”

“If something gets enough likes, it starts to feel true. If it goes viral, it becomes validated. If it is repeated often enough, it begins to sound like history,” he said.

He warned that powerful groups have learned to use confusion and noise as tools.

“They have learned to use noise to bury truth. They have learned to turn confusion into strategy,” he said.

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For Araullo, journalism offers lessons that extend beyond the profession itself.

“It is the habit of asking: Is this true? Who said it? Who benefits? Who is missing from the story? And what happens if we look away?”

He said these are questions that all citizens—not just journalists—must continue to ask.

‘Be difficult to buy’

Araullo also told the graduates that there is nothing wrong with seeking success, comfort, and financial stability.

“Please make money. A reasonable amount is fine,” he joked.

However, he warned against pursuing ambition at the expense of one’s principles.

“The problem is not ambition. The problem is ambition without memory,” he said.

“While you are still young, decide what is not for sale. Your name. Your integrity. Your compassion. The Filipino people.”

‘Be difficult to discourage’

Recognizing the pressures facing young people today, Araullo reminded graduates that failure is inevitable.

“Papalpak kayo. Maraming beses,” he said. (You will fail. Many times.)

He urged the Class of 2026 to respect their own timelines and avoid comparing themselves to others, especially in an age dominated by social media.

“Be difficult to discourage, but easy to correct. That combination will save you,” he said.

The journalist also acknowledged that not everyone begins life from the same starting point.

“Intelligence, skill, and hard work cannot fully compensate for a world where some people have to work twice or three times as hard just to reach another person’s starting line,” he said.

‘Be difficult to turn indifferent’

Araullo ended his speech by urging the graduates to protect their capacity to care for others despite the world’s many challenges.

“The world will try to make you numb,” he said.

“You will see injustice repeated so often it begins to look normal.”

To illustrate his point, he invoked the legacy of the late Kalinga leader Macli-ing Dulag, who opposed the Chico River Dam Project during the Marcos dictatorship and was killed by government forces in 1980.

“Most of us may never be asked to pay the ultimate price,” Araullo said.

“But his life reminds us that there are moments when the question is no longer, ‘What do I want?’ The question becomes: ‘What and who must I defend?’”

A call beyond graduation

As graduates prepare to enter a world shaped by economic uncertainty, technological disruption, and persistent social problems, Araullo said the country does not merely need more successful people.

“The country does not need more ‘successful’ people who are pleasant, polished, and harmless,” he said.

“It needs people who are difficult to fool, difficult to buy, difficult to discourage, difficult to turn indifferent.”

“And when the moment calls for it,” he told the Class of 2026, “may you be the right kind of difficult.”