Veteran ABS-CBN anchor Karen Davila said she never accepted bribes from sources, even when she was one asked to name her price.
Davila, who hosted programs across the flagship ABS-CBN channel, TeleRadyo and ANC, told talent manager Ogie Diaz in his vlog that she received bribe offers for slanted commentaries. The biggest offers were for radio commentators, she said.
"Ito po masasabi ko with a straight face: all the times na I've been offered, I have never taken a single centavo in my life," she told Diaz. Davila has 27 years of broadcasting experience and was a GMA anchor before moving to ABS-CBN.
At one time, she was asked by someone to name her price for a favorable commentary about an oil industry issue.
"Sinabi 'name your price kada buwan.' I said 'what?' E nagbanggit ng ibang mga anchors, like si ganito eto presyo n'ya, si ganun eto presyo n'ya," she said.
"Minsan magugulat ka, it's not the issues you think but sabi 'Karen, no one will ever know. ' And I said 'but I will know.'"
She said she does not want to smear her profession, explaining how small the news industry is in the Philippines and how fast the word would have spread.
"Ayoko babuyin 'yung propesyon ko. Hindi rin naman ako magiging ganito o rerespetuhin nang ganito kung kakalat din e, 'ay tumatanggap 'yan.'"
"Kahit po bina-bash ako, tinitira ako, masakit 'yun but no one can say 'wow, bayaran yan'," she said.