A composite photo of Vico Sotto (right), Korina Sanchez and Julius Babao. ARCHIVE

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto has accused veteran broadcast journalists Korina Sanchez and Julius Babao of accepting payments to interview contractors with ties to government flood control projects, sparking a heated exchange that has drawn national attention. In a Facebook post on Thursday (August 21), Sotto shared screenshots of Curlee and Sarah Discaya appearing in separate interviews on Sanchez’s and Babao’s shows. The Discayas, through companies such as Alpha and Omega General Contractor & Development Corporation, St. Timothy Construction, and St. Gerrard Construction, have been awarded multiple projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Sarah Discaya previously ran against Sotto in the 2022 Pasig mayoral race but lost by a landslide. One clip from Babao’s YouTube program, Julius Babao Unplugged, featured the Discayas in a vlog titled “EXCLUSIVE! Ate Sarah at Kuya Curlee, dating mahirap na naging bilyonaryo!” (Exclusive! Ate Sarah and Kuya Curlee, from poor to billionaires!). Asked what became their “gateway” to success, the couple replied it was during the time they worked with DPWH. Sotto, without directly naming Sanchez or Babao, criticized the practice of granting airtime to political aspirants and contractors allegedly in exchange for huge sums of money. “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?’” he wrote, noting that the P10 million figure was “not exact". Sotto stressed that while such interviews may not technically be illegal, they violate the spirit of media ethics. “They rose to national prominence as broadcast journalists," Sotto said. "Their capital should be their reputation and credibility… and in these cases, they are lending that credibility to the corrupt in exchange for money," he added in Filipino. He said that corruption is systemic and spreads beyond 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 our position may be, one step at a time,” Sotto said.

Korina Sanchez camp hits back

Hours later, Sanchez’s team issued a strong statement obtained by The Philippine STAR, branding Sotto’s allegations as “slanderous” and “constituting cyber libel.” “The platforms Korina Interviews and Rated Korina both take pride in their standards in storytelling and production. Both shows are multi-awarded by credible award-giving bodies,” the now deleted statement read. They clarified that the Discayas’ feature was a lifestyle piece highlighting a rags-to-riches story, not an investigative report. “Subjects simply tell their life story. This is no investigative piece,” the team said, pointing out that Sanchez has also featured Sotto’s own relatives in the past, including Sen. Tito Sotto, Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto, and MTRCB Chair Lala Sotto. They denied receiving any P10 million payment for the Discaya interview. “There is no such thing as a P10 million placement for an interview. It is irresponsible to even say such,” the team said, adding that Sotto’s claims “clearly constitute cyber libel.” They also noted that Sanchez only learned that Sarah Discaya was a Pasig mayoralty candidate on the day of the taping, and that the interview aired before campaign season.

Babao: It was lifestyle content

For his part, Julius Babao defended his feature, telling PEP.ph that the vlog was “a lifestyle feature, not a news report.” “First of all, that interview was not a news report. It was a lifestyle feature for my YouTube channel, which shares inspiring success stories," Babao said in Filipino. He added that at the time of the interview, there was no public controversy involving the Discayas’ companies. “Their rags-to-riches story was very interesting… they simply wanted to share their success story with the public," he explained. The controversy comes amid Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s strong remarks against corruption in flood control projects during his State of the Nation Address. On August 11, Marcos released a list of top DPWH contractors handling flood control projects, which included the Discayas’ companies. Sotto later outlined what he called the “six stages of corruption” in such projects, using the viral interviews as a springboard to raise public awareness. As of Thursday, his Facebook post has been shared more than 40,000 times, with supporters and critics alike debating the blurred lines between journalism, advertising, and political promotion. CAM/ICA/Expat Media
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