By John Romme Alba
Veteran broadcast journalists Korina Sanchez and Julius Babao have denied allegations that they were paid P10 million by contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya for interviews, following a Facebook post made by Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.
“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?” Sotto said in a Facebook post that showed photos of Korina and Julius’ past interviews with the couple.
“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,” he said.
“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.” He added noting that corruption is systemic and permeates every sector of society.
Although Sotto did not name any journalists in his post but screengrabs of Julius and Korina’s interviews with the Discayas were included in the post.
Babao said there was no truth to the allegation, stressing that the feature was intended to highlight the couple’s rags-to-riches story.
“There is no truth to the ₱10 million involved in this interview. The vlog’s purpose was to inspire people to succeed through hard work and determination,” Babao said in a statement to Pep.ph’s Cabinet Files.
He explained that the interview took place before Sarah became the political rival of Mayor Vico for the Mayoral race in the May 2025 elections and at a time when no controversies involving government projects had emerged. He added that the feature was a lifestyle segment for his YouTube channel and not a news report.
Meanwhile, the executive producers of “Rated Korina” and “Korina Interviews” in the latest joint official statement rejected the allegation, saying that they don’t do “puff” or “vanity pieces” but just allow their “subjects to tell their story.” In Discayas’ case, they said their “sudden prominence in the public eye makes for public interest.”
The statement further stated: “There’s no such thing as a P10M placement for an interview. This is simply not true. Malicious insinuations posted on Facebook and which publicly bersmiches the reputation of our shows or Ms. Sanchez clearly constitute cyberlibel.”
