Broadcast journalists Karmina Constantino, Pia Hontiveros, and Pinky Webb are living proofs that women can be brave, if not braver, than most men when it comes to searching for the truth.
These three have started their careers in ABS-CBN News and just like Ging Reyes, Marissa L. Flores, Luchi Cruz-Valdes, Armie Jarin-Bennett, Ana Marie Pamintuan, and Maria Ressa who helped shape journalism in the Philippines, they are trying to do the same as well.
Here are the instances that showed they can become lionesses themselves.
Karmina Constantino castigated a presidential aspirant.
Recently, Constantino went viral following her interview with presidential aspirant Dr. Jose Montemayor on Tuesday, March 1 in ANC’s In Focus.
There she sought the truth behind the allegations of the latter about the claim that Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso was receiving campaign funds from American billionaire Bill Gates.
Rather than explaining, Montemayor ridiculed the broadcast journalist by responding that ANC and ABS-CBN “have been paid” by Moreno.
The news anchor was deeply insulted and said this: “This company is not in the business of getting paid. This journalist that you’re talking to right now has never been, or ever will be, paid by anyone to ask or not ask any questions. Let’s move on.”
The interview is not the only proof of how courageous Constantino is.
In 2021, she castigated former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo when the Malacañang included Olympic Gold Medalist Hidilyn Diaz, along with other famous personalities, who they believed was trying to oust Pres. Rodrigo Duterte.
The broadcast journalist also has the balls to say to Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s camp this: “I can almost hear the other side saying, ‘Attorney Rodriguez, maybe you should consider working 18 hour days.”
She said it during an interview with Marcos’s spokesman, Atty. Vic Rodriguez after the video of Sen. Imee Marcos mocking people who were working long hours went viral.
Pia Hontiveros put an aspiring youth representative into place.
It was in August 2019 when she interviewed a 34-year-old Ronald Cardema who was disqualified to represent the youth sector.
Cardema was trying to outsmart the news anchor by insisting that the interpretation of the age requirement to become a youth representative was irrelevant.
He even said that the interpretation of the Supreme Court was wrong.
Hontiveros quipped, “Anong hindi? Mas magaling ka pa pala sa Supreme Court. Ganun?”
Pinky Webb irritated Salvador Panelo and Harry Roque.
On March 16, 2020, the Duterte administration has announced that the community quarantine for the National Capital Region (NCR) was expanded to cover the entirety of Luzon.
In a phone patch, Webb kept pestering Panelo to provide the exact time that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte will make the announcement. It resulted in the latter dropping the call.
Then in January 2021, she made former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque lose his cool in a televised interview.
The news anchor asked Roque if he was willing to denounce the government’s decision to terminate its 1989 agreement with the University of the Philippines (UP) and instead received an annoyed response from him.
“But you’re pushing the point. Going beyond asking for my reaction. Because ‘Will you denounce it?’ You said it on record. The TV recorded it. You have to be fair, no,” said a visibly irritated Roque.
Webb calmly flips her hair and responds, “I am trying to be fair.”
Hontiveros and Webb were moderators of the recently-held presidential debate organized by CNN Philippines, also threw hard questions to presidential and vice-presidential aspirants. Both broadcast journalists in 2016 even received a Special Citation for Exemplary Work as Host from the 6th EdukCircle Awards for hosting the vice-presidential debates.
