On October 30, broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez surprised the masses as she sat down to interview fellow anchor and rumored rival Karen Davila on her talk show Korina Interviews on Net 25.
“Maraming nag-iisip na magkagalit kami. Hindi naman kami magkagalit. Saan kaya nanggaling yun? Gusto ko rin siyang tanungin. Ano ba ang feelings n’ya about me? Kasi ako, wala talaga akong pagka-nega,” said Sanchez during the introduction of the episode.
Davila began to put the rumors to rest as she answered that it was the ‘competitive environment’ that made people believe the assumption that they hate each other.
“Feeling ko, because work-wise, parang it was such a competitive environment where we used to work. Parang they would always pit people against each other, perhaps. It would be, let’s say after Korina, nandyan si Karen. Napakahirap din nun for any woman ha. Kasi nga, you feel minsan either may hinahabol ka or hinahabol ka,” said Davila.
“I mean this from the bottom of my heart. Ako sa pananaw ko, isa sa mga nasayang na panahon ko sa ABS-CBN is ‘yung hindi kita nakilala doon. Of course, you were very busy. But I feel it was a lost opportunity for me, for both of us.”
Sanchez empathized with Davila’s sentiment saying that it was the conflict of schedule why they never had the chance to pursue a friendship.
“Naunahan pa ng intriga. ‘Ay, ang pumalit kay Korina si Karen so baka galit si Korina kay Karen.’ Actually hindi ah. Decision ng management iyon nung pinalitan mo ako sa ‘TV Patrol.’ And there was [no animosity]. Remember when Mar (Roxas) ran, I even invited you? Wala talaga ‘yun kasi decision talaga iyan ng mga boss namin nung mga panahon na iyon… Tapos hindi pa tayo magkatagpo sa schedule natin.”
Davila narrated her side of the story, “Remember when I replaced you in TV Patrol in 2004, napakahirap nun for me. I felt I wasn’t ready for TV Patrol then. I think I was 34, I felt I was too young for TV Patrol then but then after 6 years by 2010, I remember management told me that you were coming back and Kabayan (Noli de Castro) was coming back, do you know that was when I understood, kung nangyari nga kay Korina alangan naman na magreklamo ako na mangyari sa akin? So feeling ko bakit ako magrereklamo, kay Korina nga nangyari ‘yun? She was at the top of her game and ako, if she comes back, what makes it any different? That’s how I felt.”
Sanchez attested to Davila’s remarks by explaining the reshuffling of positions in television newscasts.
“Alam po ninyo sa news ganun po ‘yun. Isa lang po ang newscast sa primetime at pwedeng musical chairs ‘yan, pwede ‘yan magpalit ng kung sinu-sino. Wala kang magagawa dahil lahat po kami empleyado so I think the really best thing is to just shine wherever you are,” she said.
However, entertainment reporter Ogie Diaz shared hearsay in his November 1 vlog, saying that in the newsroom, Sanchez was requesting that when she leaves TV Patrol, she doesn’t want Davila replacing her. But all of this is considered gossip.
In 1995, Davila was tapped to be the news anchor for Saksi, GMA’s primetime Tagalog newscast. At present, she’s a news anchor for TV Patrol, the Kapamilya primetime news program.
Sanchez began her broadcasting career with ABS-CBN in 1986, headlining many telecasts for the network. Recently, she transferred to TV5 after exiting the Kapamilya network in August.
