MANILA, Philippines – Korina Sanchez’s camp has strongly denied Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto’s insinuation that her program allegedly received P10 million in exchange for an interview with Sarah and Curlee Discaya.
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| Photo courtesy: Vico Sotto (Facebook) |
The clarification came from the executive producers of Rated Korina and Korina Interviews, the lifestyle magazine shows hosted by the veteran broadcaster.
In a Facebook post, Sotto shared a viral photo showing Korina Sanchez and Julius Babao interviewing Sarah and Curlee Discaya, a couple who are contractors tapped by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for various infrastructure projects.
READ: Julius Babao rejects ₱10M allegation, says Discaya interview as rags-to-riches feature
The post came at the height of the controversy over alleged “ghost” flood-control projects, which was tackled during a recent organizational meeting of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
Sotto did not directly name Sanchez and Babao as having received millions of pesos for the said interview, but the public was left with the impression that the Pasig City mayor was referring to them.
It can be read, “With these interviews again going viral, let’s look at it from a different angle… Bago tanggapin ng mga kilalang journalists ang alok para mag-interview ng Contractor na Pumapasok sa Politika, hindi ba nila naisip na, ‘Uy teka, ba’t kaya handa ’to magbigay ng 10 million* para lang magpa-interview sa akin??’”
“I know for a fact that there are many good, honest people in media who are disappointed, if not angered, at practices like this which undermine the integrity of their profession.”
“In this case, maybe they didn’t do anything technically “illegal,” but at the very least it should be considered shameful and violative of the spirit of their code of ethics. Puwede silang magtago sa grey areas: ‘hindi naman journalism ito… more of lifestyle lang… kailangan kasi ng sponsor…’ pero ’wag na tayong maglokohan.”
“They rose to national prominence as broadcast journalists/news personalities; puhunan [dapat] nila ang kanilang reputasyon at kredibilidad... at sa ganitong kalakaran, ito rin ang reputasyon at kredibilidad na pinahihiram nila sa mga corrupt kapalit ng 💵.”
“Let’s remember that corruption is systemic... it permeates into every sector of society, not just government. But we can slowly but surely break this cycle if more and more of us consistently do our part, wherever we are and whatever are position may be, one step at a time. (*not an exact figure pero alam nyo na).”
He added, “Hindi naman sa gusto kong gumawa ng bagong kaaway.. pero tingin ko kailangan din mapag-usapan ito eh. Nagkataon malakas ako nung halalan pero kung sa iba nila ginawa to? Baka wala na. Anyway. Kayo na po ang bahala sa kin.”
Through an official statement sent to the media, Sanchez disputed Sotto’s allegation against her.
“Yes, Mayor Sotto, there are payments for certain businesses such as that of the Discayas, products, personalities, companies or politicians much like payments made for advertisements — and these go to the network with an official receipt issued to the client,” they said.
“There is no such thing as a P10 million placement for an interview. It is irresponsible to even say such, to say the least. As your malice is posted on Facebook and publicly besmirches the reputation of Ms. Sanchez, this clearly constitutes cyber libel,” they added.
The executive producers of Korina’s show also clarified that it was not Korina who had contact with the Discasya couple.
They said the veteran broadcaster only learned who she would be interviewing on the very day of the taping.
Meanwhile, Sotto’s camp has yet to issue any reaction, response, or statement regarding the official pronouncement from Korina’s side.
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express