Kagaya ni Boy Abunda ay nainterbyu ni Korina Sanchez ang Top 5 presidential aspirants na sina Bongbong Marcos, Leni Robredo, Isko Moreno, Manny Pacquiao at Ping Lacson.
May mga nang-iintriga na mas dapat si Korina ang nag-interbyu para sa Kapamilya Channel, at hindi si Kuya Boy — para tumapat kay Jessica Soho ng GMA Network.
Napatingin sa kisame si Korina habang hinahaplus-haplos ang ibaba ng labi, “I think, well, you know… actually, Boy Abunda has a doctorate degree and I do not. OK?
“Not to say that I won’t ask as intelligent questions. Pero hindi natin puwedeng maliitin si Boy. Kasi, napakatalinong tao niyan.
“And sa totoo lang, even if you are not a journalism graduate like me or Jessica, some of the smartest questions may come from a nurse.
“Some of the smartest questions can come from a taxi driver, you know. So, sabihin mong… and in this day and age of social media, sa totoo lang, aminin, anybody can be journalists, right?"
Sabi pa ni Korina tungkol kay Boy, “I was watching this guy, my first time to watch him, I was so impressed! My goodness! Sabi ko, ‘Ang galing naman nitong taong ‘to!’
“But, ahhm… credibility kasi is in the eye of the beholder, e. Sabi nila, ang journalist, hindi puwedeng mag-endorso.
“E, ako, nagbebenta pa ako ng sarili kong produkto. If you’re purist about it, right?
“Naalala mo ba yung mga panahon ni Helen Vela? Na siya ang anchor ng GMA News?
“Sabi nung iba, nung mga panahon na yun, ‘Bakit si Helen Vela, e, artista 'yan?! E, 'yan, e, noontime host, bakit iyan ang kanilang news anchor?!’
“Why?! Trust depends on who is watching you. At kung katanggap-tanggap ka sa tao at naniniwala sila sa iyo, I think that is what the basis was of ABS-CBN in choosing Boy Abunda.
“Boy Abunda by the way, I think, is still organic to ABS-CBN up to now. And I am not. I am not.
“Pinakawalan ako ng ABS when they closed. Maganda ang hiwalay namin. Maganda pa rin ang relasyon namin,” pagmumuwestra ni Ate Koring sa virtual mediacon nitong Pebrero 8, 2022, Martes ng hapon.
“And I am not organic to TV5 either. So, I think every station really just simply chose who was still organic to their network, or to their station. Kaya si Tito Boy…
“And I congratulate them naman for their choice of Boy Abunda for their station.”
INTERVIEW WITH THE TOP PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANTS
Kung inalok siya ng ABS-CBN na interbyuhin ang Top 5 presidential aspirants, susunggaban ba niya?
“Of course! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” mabilis na tugon ni Korina, na sinundan ng sakdal lutong na halakhak.
Kasing-light din lang ng format niya sa Rated Korina? O magiging fierce gaya ng kay Kuya Boy?
“Well, you know what, it really depends on your bosses, what they want you to do,” pagmamatuwid ni Korina.
“But what I’m very, very happy about is that I’m now independent and I can do things the way I want to do it. And I’m very happy with the turn out and the response of people to my style of having presented the presidentiables.
“Because it was risky. Some people did not agree with it in the beginning and I said, ‘Hindi,’ gusto ko silang ipakita kasama ng pamilya nila. Gusto ko silang ipakita na nagtatanim.
“Gusto ko silang ipakitang nagluluto, pero pagkatapos nilang mapanood ang lahat ng iyan, at nakita nilang tinanong ko pa rin ang pinakamababagsik na mga tanong, doon nila makikita kung bakit ko ginawa yun.
“So, I guess, you can say it’s just the Korina brand. And that didn’t come from me. I got it from several reactions, lumabas yung Korina brand. And you know, medyo tumataba ang puso ko.
“Kasi, matagal na rin akong hindi nagha-hard news, and that’s why medyo kinabahan ako dito. Nakatutok ako sa team ko, sa editing.
“And, ahh… parang nabuhay uli ang dugo ng pagiging journalist ko after this episode.”
MEETING EXPECTATIONS
Ano ang pakiramdam niya na malaki pa rin ang expectation ng mga tao sa Korina brand of broadcast journalism?
“Well, you know, I’ve evolved since the days when I was in my 20s na parati akong may kaaway, parating may galit sa akin, may death threat ako. May sumusunod sa akin, van na itim,” matamang saad ni Korina.
“Ngayon, wala na akong mga death threat. Ang bait-bait ko na, e! Nagbebenta na ako ng pampaputi ng mukha, e. Alam mo yung ganun?
“Saka meron na akong Pepe en Pilar,” pagtukoy niya sa mga anak nila ni dating DILG Secretary Mar Roxas.
Ang mga anak ba niya ay isa sa mga dahilan kaya nag-mellow siya bilang journalist?
“I think so. Parang, I think, journalism itself is evolving!” pagdidiin ni Korina.
“Alam mo ba, natutunan ko sa masters class ko? I took up my masters in Ateneo, I was already past 50.
“Pagpasok ko ng classroom, akala nila na ako ang teacher. Tumayo silang lahat. Kasi, ako ang pinakamatanda sa kanila. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
“So, anyway, you know what, what really astounded me in that masters class… there is no such thing as objectivity.
“That is one of the conclusions. There is no such thing as ‘no bias,’ you know. And ahhh… in the same way that the landscape of TV and social media is evolving, journalism itself, I think, is evolving.
“How do you present someone just answering tough questions on a chair? You have to know the whole of them.
“That’s why you know, even in America, makikita mo, nagpi-picnic si Barack [Obama], kasama ni Michelle, di ba? Naka-two-piece si Michelle, papakita ni Barack na naka-six-pack siya. Why? ‘They have to know I’m healthy. They have to know that this is the kind of father I am.’
“And honestly, are we really electing presidents to Malacañang? We are electing human beings to Malacañang.
“And you have to know what kind of human beings they are. So, that is how I feel my brand of journalism is evolving.
“It’s more holistic. It’s less judgmental, ahhm, without having to diminish the value of knowledgeability, decency, education.
“Pero tama yung narinig ko kahapon dun sa isang vlog, e. ‘Nasa galing ito! Gaano ka kagaling? Gaano karunong dumiskarte?’ Husay! Husay ang pinag-uusapan dito.”
Nasa YouTube channel na Rated Korina ang extended versions ng interviews ni Korina para sa Upuan Ng Katotohanan: The 2022 Presidential Special na umere noong nakaraang weekend sa TV program niyang Rated Korina.