Former ABS-CBN reporter Niko Baua clarified on Sunday, August 24, that veteran broadcasters Ted Failon and Noli de Castro were not the personalities alluded to in his viral Instagram story recounting instances of bribery and corruption in the media during the 2013 pork barrel scam coverage.
Baua initially shared a 7-part story on Instagram recalling how whistleblowers in the Janet Napoles PDAF scam refused to be interviewed by him, later learning that some reporters and anchors were allegedly on a “payola list” funded by the scam. He said even an anchorman he had worked with before was part of the list, which, according to him, cost him the story.
Following the post, some netizens speculated online that he may have been referring to either Failon or de Castro—both long-time ABS-CBN news anchors.
In a lengthy follow-up post, Baua admitted he did not expect his story to trigger such strong assumptions.
“I was not expecting those reactions, and that’s my fault, I should’ve worded things differently/thoroughly. Basically I was thinking aloud and probably should’ve just posted it in private mode. But here we are… in Reddit,” he wrote.
He firmly denied that Failon or de Castro were the anchors he was alluding to: “And for those vilifying Sir Ted and Kabayan at nag-akalang sila ang anchor na nasa payroll umano ni Napoles – HINDI PO SILA. That’s all I’m going to say.”
Baua stressed that his intention was not to smear individuals but to highlight how systemic corruption, conflicts of interest, and labor issues exist in the media industry.
“Let’s not pretend that corruption isn’t a problem in the industry… There’s a lot that needs to be fixed,” he said.
He also reminded the public that his story happened more than a decade ago, in 2013, and that while he was disgusted by the experience, he chose to remain in journalism for 11 more years to do his best in his own output.
“Like any other company, we had good and rotten people, and our newsroom did not have a shortage of outstanding talent… They stayed true to their work and didn’t end up as social climbers, or clout chasing vloggers, or both,” he wrote, citing respected colleagues such as Henry Omaga-Diaz, Pia Hontiveros, and Gus Abelgas as examples of integrity in the field.
In his extended post, Baua detailed other instances of bribery and gift-giving he had witnessed during his career—from reporters accepting seized goods at Customs, to blatant envelope distributions during political press conferences.
He said while he initially exposed such practices and even received awards for it, he later realized the personal cost of being branded as someone who “cannot be trusted with sensitive information.”
Still, he shared a story about mentoring a younger reporter who chose not to accept an expensive gift at a government event. “If you take that gift, there’s no going back… But if you don’t, you will still enjoy that satisfying freedom of asking any question, pursue any story, and demand accountability,” he told her.
For Baua, that refusal was a small but significant win.
Baua ended by encouraging the public to remain critical of the media they consume: “You can discern which reporters/anchors/network to follow. Try watching and comparing the news stories of the three networks… See who made an effort in getting all the sides, who asked the uncomfortable questions, and which angles did they include/exclude.”
