In her interviews that have been regarded by news junkies as a masterclass on not letting men get away with lies, ANC news anchor Karmina Constantino believes she's not really "doing anything differently", saying that this is how she's always been given her nationalistic upbringing and what her job as a journalist calls for.
The granddaughter of historian Renato Constantino and the daughter of anti-imperialist activist RC Constantino, Karmina said refusing to let public officials get away with wrongdoing was something she had been taught as a young child who tagged along in rallies.
"I grew up in that environment. That's why when people were, nabigla sila, about what happened, I really didn't think think that I was doing anything differently because this is me, this is how i've always been. You know my family, we're really passionate about this country," Constantino told the Wake Up With Jim & Saab podcast.
"Isa lang ang bansa natin so pagka may pagkakamaling nakikita na dapat iwasto, dapat nandun tayo. And that has been my environment ever since, and I try to make that the environment of my kids as well," she added.
In her 26 years as a broadcast journalist, Constantino said she has yet to feel that her job is a chore nor does she let it get to her head even when she's the top trending topic on social media.
"I have made it my mantra, one of my core beliefs, one of my guiding principles to think that, this job, although I am blessed with it, doesn't define me," she said, sharing how once the job for the day is over, she makes time for things outside of it.
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"After my broadcast, after the meetings that follow after, after I write my interviews and after I write my scripts, that's it. It doesn't define me. It shouldn't consume me because I am many other things to other people," said Constantino, who has four kids.
How to 'fight back' in interviews
Constantino most recently went viral twice—first for her interview with presidential candidate Jose Montemayor, whom she confronted for insinuating that she was paid to ask a certain question, then days later for her encounter with Cavite Rep. Crispin “Boying” Remulla, whom she pressed for proof over his claims that attendees during a March 4 rally for Presidential aspirant Leni Robredo in Cavite were paid and had communist links.
"First of all, to their evolution, their answerable to themselves and their parents. That's how they evolved, we let them be. Ang sa akin lang, if you're gonna evolve backwards, don't bring the country down with you," she said, explaining why she remains fearless in her encounters with people who have questionnable political choices.
"The moment you cross the line and hustle and compromise the country, I won't have any of that. Kung naging ganyan sila eventually, they're answerable to themselves and their god for that. Wala nang damayan please," she added.
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Even when interviewing government officials like former presidential spokespersons Harry Roque and Salvador Panelo, whom she considers "friends", Constantino said the job calls for her to be relentless.
"Harry is a friend. Panelo is also a friend. Do we share the same politics? Obviously not. Do I hold them into account for what they've said and done? Of course. Have they become jokes? That's for people to believe and for them to defend themselves against," she said.
On how she cuts through the tactical distractions that have come to define these interviews, Constantino shared her strategy for fighting back.
"But the way out of that is you take the whole image out of the equation, and tanggalin mo lahat ng inis factor, 'yung pagsasayaw, pagkakanta, tanggalin mo lahat 'yun, and then you focus on the issues. That's how you fight. Put the country in the middle and focus on the issues," she said.
"If they're saying this and you don't believe they should be saying that because it's detrimental to the country, then you fight back. Because 'yung pagsasayaw, pagkakanta, that's just all noise. I don't think there's a greater play here. But you go by the issues, you hold them to account by the issues, and that's how you do it. That's how you tackle these characters," she added.
Constantino, like Roque, was a product of a UP education and was taught that honor should come first before excellence, and to always, serve the people. She has this to say about people who "lost" their principles along the way:
"I don't really know what happened. All I know is that I would keep on reminding these people where their hearts should be, and where their principles should be, because that where they were to begin with. That's their decision but it shouldn't be ours. That's their decision and because that's there decision, it doesn't mean we should keep silent about it. The more we should speak out, and the more we should be reminding them," she said, adding:
"I honestly don't know. One of these days, Harry and I will sit down and talk and I'd say, 'Ano ba? Anong nangyari?".