Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto has called out reporters for interviewing his political rival Sarah Discaya and her husband Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya, who are linked to the flood control projects currently under Senate investigation. While he didn’t name veteran journalists Julius Babao and Korina Sanchez, he included screenshots of their video interviews with the Discayas.
In the past week, Babao and Sanchez’s interviews resurfaced in light of controversy surrounding the government’s failed flood control projects. Babao’s video was published to his YouTube channel in September 2024, a month before Sarah filed her certificate of candidacy to run against Sotto in the Pasig mayoral race. The Discaya couple also appeared in the TV program Rated Korina, hosted by Sanchez, in January 2025, according to ABS-CBN News.
In a Facebook post, Sotto alleged that the two reporters had received money for the interviews ahead of the elections.
“Bago tanggapin ng mga kilalang journalists ang alok para mag-interview ng contractor na pumapasok sa politika [Discaya], hindi ba nila naisip na, ‘Uy teka, ba’t kaya handa ’to magbigay ng [P]10 million para lang magpa-interview sa akin?’” he wrote. He also said that the P10 million-peso bribe is “not an exact figure, pero alam n’yo na.”
“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,” Sotto added. “They rose to national prominence as broadcast journalists ornews 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 [pera].”
Sotto ended the post saying the public must be wary that corruption is systemic, and that it “permeates into every sector of society, not just government.”
‘Inspiring Rags to Riches Story’
Sanchez and Bababao have denied receiving money from the Discayas, both insisting that they only wanted to share the “rags-to-riches” story of the family, which had been under investigation by the Pasig government for alleged fraud and anomalous contracts.
“We choose subjects and topics for our shows because there is public interest,” said Viktory 8 Media Inc., which produces Rated Korina. The letter to Sotto said that the producers did not presume Sarah and Curlee Discaya as “evil nor as angels.” “Their rags-to-riches story is theirs to tell. It was aired walang dagdag at walang bawas.”
The producers added that Sotto had denied their requests for an interview, and that “there is no such thing as a P10 million placement for an interview.” “Malicious insinuations on Facebook, and which publicly besmirches the reputation of our shows or Ms. Sanchez, clearly constitute cyber libel.”
Babao told PEP that his video interview with the Discayas was not a news report but a lifestyle feature.
“Unang-una, ang interview na ‘yan ay hindi isang news report,” Babao said. “Ito ay lifestyle feature para sa [YouTube] channel ko na naglalabas ng mga inspiring success stories. At the time and month in 2024 when the interview was made, it was a profile feature of a couple who rose from rags to riches because of their different business ventures.”
He also said, “Walang katotohanang may 10 million [pesos] na involved for this interview.”
