Mayor Vico Sotto: “It’s not that I want to make new enemies…”

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto: “Before prominent journalists accepted the offer to interview a Contractor Entering Politics, didn’t they think, ‘Hey wait, is this guy willing to give 10 million* just to interview me??’”
PHOTO/S: Facebook

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto brought to the attention of veteran broadcasters Julius Babao and Korina Sanchez’s old and separate interviews with contractor couple Sarah and Curlee Discaya in his Facebook post this Thursday, August 21, 2025.

It’s been almost a year since Julius interviewed Sarah and Curlee for his Unplugged YouTube channel.

The couple showed and boasted to Julius about the luxury and high-end cars that were supposedly for the personal use of the Discaya family.

More than 40 of their expensive cars are parked in the parking lot of the tall and spacious St. Gerrard Construction building owned by Sarah and Curlee.

Korina’s interview with Sarah aired on  NET 25’s Korina Interviews program  on January 2, 2025.

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It was uploaded to NET 25’s YouTube channel with the title “A Victim of Bullying, Now A Politician.”

It discusses the story of Sarah’s “rise and success”—from what she says is her parents’ simple life as OFWs in London and her growing up there, to her love story with Curlee and how they got into the construction business.

TOP 2 AND TOP 3 CONTRACTORS IN FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS

On August 11, 2025, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto revealed that the Discaya couple owns some of the construction companies that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had exposed.

In a press conference that same day, President Marcos Jr. said that 15 contractors were given 20 percent from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s PHP545 billion budget for flood control projects.

Sarah is the opponent of Mayor Vico in the mayoral race in Pasig City in the May 2025 elections.

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In Mayor Vico’s Facebook post on August 11, he informed the citizens of Pasig City about what he said was the Discayas’ relationship with the contractors mentioned by the President.

Pahayag ng alkalde: “This morning, PBBM presented the Top 15 DPWH Contractors for Flood Control Projects.

“You may have noticed that Alpha & Omega is Top 2 and St. Timothy is Top 3; these companies, along with others including ST. GERRARD, are all owned and controlled by the DISCAYAS.

“Now, the people are gradually learning the whole truth.”

“As the president told them during the SONA, “SHAME ON YOU!”

“What’s going on here?”

“While it is often difficult to pinpoint specific people, all of us in government know that this is true. Captains and politicians who are also with them are the first to tell me how they do it.”

Mayor Vico’s message included his explanation of the “Six Stages of Corruption.”

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The next day, August 12, Mayor Vico shared on his Facebook post the problems that occurred in the four flood control projects of the Discayas in Iloilo City worth PHP570 million.

Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas said that 4 flood control projects of Discaya companies have problems with them. (Each project is 120-150M – total P570M.)

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“As per Mayor Treñas, ‘These projects are either NON-FUNCTIONAL, have CAUSED FLOODING, or are, in some cases, practically NON-EXISTENT.’ (emphasis added).

“If we want a better future for our country, let’s hold the people behind this accountable. Let’s break this cycle!!”

JULIUS BABAO AND KORINA SANCHEZ INTERVIEWS ON THE DISCAYAS

This Thursday, August 21, Sotto discussed Julius Babao and Korina Sanchez’s separate interviews with the Discaya couple.

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Julius’ interview with Sarah and Curlee was uploaded to the broadcaster’s YouTube channel in September 2024.

The vlog is titled “EXCLUSIVE! ATE SARAH AND KUYA CURLESS, FROM EARLY TROUBLE TO BECOME BILLIONAIRE!”

Julius’ conversation with the couple is being discussed again and has gone viral due to the alleged anomalous flood control projects.

In the interview, Sarah and Curlee admitted that their construction business improved when they had projects with the DPWH.

Part of Sarah’s statement: “So we first worked, privately. Private houses but there was no income from that.”

Julius asked: “What seemed to be the gateway to making your life better?”

Sarah quickly answered: “When we were DPWH.”

Since the anomalies regarding flood control projects were uncovered, the comments section on the video of Julius’ interview with the Discaya couple has been disabled.

In Korina’s interview, Sarah’s story focused on her background and why she is running for mayor of Pasig City.

Sarah shared that Curlee used to be a foreman in her father’s construction business, and that Curlee’s first solo project was building a gate at Pasig City Hall.

There was also a part in the episode where a video clip was inserted where Curlee spoke.

Curlee said that his and Sarah’s expertise in building “schools, housing, bridges, and flood control” along with what he said was their experience of being “nothing in life” will help them in their desire to serve the people of Pasigueño.

MAYOR VICO ON DISCAYA INTERVIEWS BY POPULAR JOURNALISTS

This Thursday, August 21, Mayor Vico once again released his opinion and observations regarding the resurfacing of old video interviews with the Discaya couple.

This is amid the involvement of their companies in allegedly anomalous flood control projects.

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The 36-year-old mayor of Pasig City criticized the acceptance of “well-known journalists” to interview a “contractor entering politics” allegedly in exchange for a large sum of money.

Mayor Vico did not mention any names, but attached to his post were screenshots of Julius and Korina from their interviews with Sarah and Curlee Discaya.

Photo(s): Vico Sotto Facebook

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Nakasaad sa Facebook post ni Mayor Vico: “With these interviews again going viral, let’s look at it from a different angle…

“Before prominent journalists accepted the offer to interview a Contractor Entering Politics, didn’t they think, ‘Hey, wait, is this guy willing to give 10 million just to interview me??’

“I know for a fact that there are many good, honest people in media who are disappointed, if not angered, at practices like this which undermine the integrity of their profession.

“In this case, maybe they didn’t do anything technically ‘illegal,’ but at the very least it should be considered shameful and violative of the spirit of their code of ethics.

“They can hide in gray areas: ‘this isn’t journalism… it’s more of a lifestyle… we need a sponsor…’ but let’s not fool ourselves.

“They rose to national prominence as broadcast journalists/news personalities; they [should] invest in their reputation and credibility… and in this trend, it is also the reputation and credibility that they lend to the corrupt in exchange for [money emoji].

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“Let’s remember that corruption is systemic… it permeates into every sector of society, not just government. But we can slowly but surely break this cycle if more and more of us consistently do our part, wherever we are and whatever are position may be, one step at a time.(*not an exact figure pero alam nyo na).”

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In the comments section of his post, Mayor Vico clarified that he does not want to make new enemies, but said that the issue he brought to his attention should be discussed.

He said: “It’s not that I want to make new enemies… but I think this needs to be discussed.

“I happened to be strong in the election, but what if they did this to someone else? Maybe it’s gone. Anyway. You guys take care of me.”

GETTING THE SIDE OF JULIUS AND KORINA

Before publishing this article, PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) sent a message to Julius Babao and Korina Sanchez to take their side on Mayor Vico Sotto’s Facebook post.

This writer sent a message to Julius, via Messenger, at around 9:16 PM this Thursday.

PEP has received Julius’ official statement, and we will publish it in a separate article.

PEP deputy managing editor Rachelle Siazon sent a message to Korina, via direct messaging on Instagram and SMS, this morning at 9:46 PM.

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We are awaiting Korina’s official statement, and we will publish it as soon as we receive it.

PEP will remain open to all the personalities mentioned in this article.