Vico Sotto Post About "Paid Interviews" Of Journalists Earns Reaction From Arnold Clavio

In a post, Arnold Clavo has this reaction after Mayor Vico Sotto shared this post.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto made this comment about paid journalists, and GMA reporter Arnold Clavio has this reaction.

In a Facebook post, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto called out veteran journalists who receive payment to interview personalities who want to enter the political arena, specifically, contractors. In his post, he includes a screenshot of the interview of the Discayas with Korina Sanchez and Julius Babao.

To recall, Sotto defeated Sarah Discaya in the midterm election this year. He won by landslides. In the interview with two journalists, they showcased their garage filled with 40 sports cars.

In the post of Sotto about journalists being paid, he expressed that “a corruption is systemic… it permeates into every sector of society, not just government” and added that this pattern can be broken if “more and more of us consistently do our part, wherever we are and whatever are position may be, one step at a time.”

The post created a loud buzz online, and among those who reacted was GMA broadcaster Arnold Clavio. The seasoned broadcaster expressed his thoughts about the matter through an Instagram post, where the introduction was this famous line: When someone accuses you of doing something you’re not doing, it’s usually because they’re the ones doing it.

He then highlighted this statement from the post of the Pasig City mayor:

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?

He urged Sotto to release proof that the Discaya couple paid Babao and Sanchez for an interview. If he is uncertain about the amount involved is Php 10 million, he should accordingly find a way to show people in order to prove his claims.

Clavio went on expressing that he did not expect these “irresponsible” claims to come from the mayor. He wrote, “Huwag kang magtago sa mga pasaring , parinig o haka-haka , dahil sa industriya namin mahalaga ang terminong ‘verification’ ng facts sa pagbabalita . Maraming pinagdadaanan ang isang balita bago ito umere.”

He feels like the accusations against Babao and Sanchez are unjust. He spoke not to defend the two but to protect their industry, the source of information for the public.