MANILA – For the first time ever, Korina Sanchez and Karen Davila sat down together to address long-standing rumors that they are at odds with each other.

In a rare 1-on-1 interview for Sanchez’s show “Korina Interviews” which aired on Net25 on Sunday, the two discussed why people always thought that they were not on good terms.

“Feeling ko, because workwise, parang it was such a competitive environment where we used to work. Parang they would always pit people against each other, perhaps. It would be, let’s say after Korina, nandiyan si Karen. Napakahirap din nun for any woman ha. Kasi nga you feel minsan either may hinahabol ka or hinahabol ka,” Davila said.

Sanchez agreed, adding that it was actually everyone else who was pitting them against each other.

Further elaborating on the matter, Davila admitted that she feels it was a missed opportunity that she was not able to get to know Sanchez when the Rated K host was still with ABS-CBN.

“I mean this from the bottom of my heart, ako sa pananaw ko, isa sa mga nasayang na panahon ko sa ABS-CBN is yung hindi kita nakilala doon. Of course, you were very busy. But I feel it was a lost opportunity for me, for both of us.”

Davila said Sanchez could have even been a mentor to her.

• Korina Sanchez, Karen Davila sit down in first 1-on-1 interview

Sanchez meanwhile said that one possible reason why this never happened was because their schedules were never in sync.

“Sobrang busy. Iba iba ang schedule natin. It’s not like nakakahuntahan ko ng madalas si Bernadette [Sembrano] or even Loren [Legarda]. Talagang ang nakakausap ko lang ay si Ted [Failon] kasi siya yung partner ko,” Sanchez said.

There were also too many intrigues about them that circulated, Sanchez said.

“Naunahan pa ng intriga. ‘Ay ang pumalit kay Korina si Karen so baka galit si Korina kay Karen.’ Actually hindi ah. Decision ng management iyon nung pinalitan mo ako sa TV Patrol. And there was [no animosity]. Remember when Mar ran, I even invited you? Wala talaga yun kasi decision talaga iyan ng mga boss namin nung mga panahon na iyon,” Sanchez explained.

Acknowledging how the industry works, Sanchez said the best thing for everyone is "to just shine wherever you are."

Sanchez joined ABS-CBN in 1986 while Davila became part of the Kapamilya network in 2000.

Davila took over from Sanchez as one of the main anchors of “TV Patrol” in 2004. Sanchez, however, came back to anchor the newscast in 2010. Davila then moved to anchor the late-night news program “Bandila” along with Julius Babao and Ces Drilon.

Davila returned as main anchor of TV Patrol in 2021.

Both Sanchez and Davila have been recognized for their work as broadcast journalists through the years.