₱10 million per interview?

By Herbert Vego

IF you are a public works contractor aching to run and win for mayor of Pasig City, would you pay ₱10 million for an interview by a rated TV host/vlogger?

Would Korina Sanchez-Roxas and Julius Babao bite such a tempting amount if offered?

While this corner would give Korina and Julius the benefit of the doubt, for sure spouses Pacifico and Sarah Discaya could afford to strike such a “bargain” rather than pay for a TV ad, which could cost at least a million pesos per minute.

I remember the moment when Julius asked Sara how they had made it so big as to afford 40 luxury cars, one of which is a ₱58-million Rolls Royce-Cullinan SUV.

“Nag-DPWH kami,” she quickly answered.

The interview was done before the May 12, 2025 election.

Despite her wealth, however, Sara lost to the popular re-electionist mayor of Pasig City, Vico Sotto. But that is getting ahead of the story.

By saying “nag-DPWH” kami, she confirmed that she had stashed away vast wealth from their business as contractors for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

By threatening to sue Sotto for cyber libel, Korina turned a molehill into a mountain, since the cause of it all was a mere cryptic Facebook post: “Bago tanggapin ng mga kilalang journalists ang alok para mag-interview ng Contractor na Pumapasok sa Politika, hindi ba nila naisip na, ‘Uy teka, ba’t kaya handa ’to magbigay ng 10 million* para lang magpa-interview sa akin?’”

And so, now, everybody is busy browsing YouTube to see the many recorded interviews that Korina, Julius and many other vloggers had done with the Discaya couple.

The couple owns three construction companies, namely St. Gerrard Construction, St. Timothy Construction and Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor and Development Corp.

All three companies are among those blamed for what President Marcos called “substandard” flood-control projects in the city and province of Iloilo, worth ₱7.3 billion.

But, of course, Iloilo is a small portion of their nationwide operation that has catapulted them into the list of the top 15 contractors for the ₱100-billion flood mitigation projects.   Interesting, indeed.

Thus, rather than accuse Mayor Sotto of besmirching their reputation, Korina and Julius should have refrained from presenting the Discaya couple as “profiles in success”.

You see, the subsequent Senate probe has already unmasked collusion – a.k.a. “profit sharing” — between legislators (senators and congressmen alike) and favored contractors.  I would rather not belabor this matter though because the ongoing Senate hearings are well-covered by both the mainstream and online media.

Just for a little bit on Ms. Sara, she is an AB degree holder who used to work as a receptionist in a number of construction firms.

She and hubby Pacifico, who takes pride in being “son of a farmer from Culasi, Antique,” went into the construction business in 2017 in the infancy of the Rodrigo Duterte presidency.

 -oOo-

MORE PATIENCE, PLEASE…

IN response to our previous column on MORE Power’s expansion to Pavia and Sta. Barbara forthwith, several readers wondered why power lines had already risen but with no residential installations yet.

According to MORE Power spokesman Jonathan Cabrera, they are still waiting for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

CPCN refers to authorization to operate a public utility,

Pavia and Sta. Barbara are just two of the 15 towns and a city (Passi) in Iloilo targeted for MORE Power expansion as provided by law (RA 11918).

The unexpected resignation of ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta must have contributed to the delay in issuance of CPCN.

It’s not a problem, though, since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already been replaced him.

Atty. Francis Saturnino Juan, the new chairman, brings with him decades of experience in regulatory affairs, having previously served as executive director and general counsel of the ERC, and currently as president of the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines.

Retired Prosecutor Rolando “Landic” Nielo agrees and wishes for MORE Power to energize his native town of Miag-ao, too.