Team DailyPedia
Netizens suspect that veteran broadcaster Korina Sanchez-Roxas was indirectly addressing Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto in her pointed remarks on ‘Agenda’, the Bilyonaryo News Channel program she co-anchors with Pinky Webb and Willard Cheng.
On the September 1 episode, Webb and Sanchez congratulated Cheng for being named Asia’s Modern Hero for Integrity. Sanchez then stressed the importance of backing up statements with facts:
“Yan ang maganda, integrity,” she said of Cheng’s award.
“Yung evidence backed by research kasi importante ‘yon lalo ngayon na maraming nag-iimbestigahan. Ang pinakaimportante, I think, to back up what you’re saying as credible is you have evidence before you talk. Right? Ang hirap yung magsasabi ka lang pero wala kang ebidensiya. So, kailangan yung integridad din nila, guwardiyado nila that way. Kailangan may resibo ka bago ka magsalita.”
The following day, September 2, Agenda turned its focus to celebrities and influencers being linked—fairly or unfairly—to government corruption scandals. Sanchez defended Heart Evangelista, who has been targeted online because of her lifestyle:
“Totoo naman ‘yun, si Heart matagal na ganoon. Fashionista talaga siya. Pero ngayon kasi, uso yung nagsasabi ng kung anu-anong akusasyon pero walang ebidensiya. Siguro, dito kaya Heart, in fairness to her, this guy has to prove that there is basis to even investigate Heart, di ba? Bakit kailangan niyang patunayan ‘yon, e, may SALN naman ‘yung asawa niya?”
Sanchez then cited Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez, who recently came under fire for accusing reporters of orchestrating a “media spin” against him and exposing their names and numbers online. Gomez has since apologized on the House floor.
“Pero lahat ng bagay, kailangan pinatutunayan. Uso nga ngayon ‘yung foot and mouth disease, di ba? Yung foot and mouth disease, ‘yung mga tipong nangyari kay Congressman, ‘yung pogi, Richard Gomez! He apologized! So, saludo po kami sa inyo Congressman Richard Gomez na nabigla lang daw siya, hindi ba? That is integrity for me, if you can accept that you made a mistake. Because kapag sinabi mo, kailangan mapanindigan mo at higit sa lahat, mapatunayan mo.”
Webb added that politicians should either respond to media queries properly or simply decline: “Tama naman, he owned up to the mistake. Pero next time din kasi, kapag humihingi ang media ng komento sa ‘yo, either you say no comment or huwag mo na lang sagutin.”
To which Sanchez replied: “Hinihingi ‘yung panig lang niya, pero ang sabi niya, bayaran daw silang [media] lahat. But I think it’s very important na he owned up to it, and isa siyang tunay na lalaki.”
While Sanchez did not mention him by name, many viewers linked her remarks to Mayor Vico Sotto’s viral Facebook post on August 21, where he criticized high-profile journalists for interviewing alleged “corrupt” contractors for large sums of money.
Sotto wrote: “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 added that such practices, while not technically illegal, are “shameful and violative of the spirit of their code of ethics.”
Sotto’s post included screenshots of interviews by Korina Sanchez and Julius Babao with controversial contractor couple Sarah and Curlee Discaya, sparking heated debate on media integrity.
For netizens, the timing of Sanchez’s repeated insistence on “evidence” and her defense of public figures like Heart Evangelista suggested she was pushing back against Sotto’s insinuations—without naming him outright.
