Korina Sanchez-Roxas is a Filipino broadcast journalist, television news anchor, radio anchor, newspaper columnist, musician and social media influencer with more than 3 million followers on Facebook alone. She stands as one of the most enduring and recognizable figures in Philippine broadcast journalism, maintaining a career that has spanned four decades across television, radio, and print. She is noteworthy for her distinct, authoritative style and for successfully navigating the industry’s changing landscape, from traditional news anchoring to hosting a highly popular news magazine show that she eventually took to multiple platforms.
Personal Information and Education
Born Korina Maria Baluyut Sanchez on October 5, 1964, in British Hong Kong, she established a formidable reputation through diligence and advanced academic pursuit. Sanchez finished high school at Saint Theresa’s College of Quezon City before earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts from Miriam College (formerly Maryknoll College). Demonstrating a commitment to continued education even while maintaining a demanding career, she later completed a Master’s degree in Journalism, graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University on June 26, 2016.
Family
Korina Sanchez married former Senator and Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Manuel “Mar” Roxas, in a high-profile ceremony on October 27, 2009, in Quezon City. A significant chapter in their family life began a decade later when they welcomed their fraternal twins, Pepe Ramon Gerardo Manuel Denzel and Pilar Judith Celia Ester Korina, who were born via gestational surrogacy in the United States on February 12, 2019. This choice for parenthood came after the couple had decided to freeze their embryos before Sanchez’s biological clock effectively stopped ticking.
Career
Sanchez began her extensive media career in 1984, first with MBS-4 and City2 Television before joining ABS-CBN in 1986, the network where she would cement her status as a powerhouse journalist. Her early roles included anchoring The World Tonight Weekend (1987–1995) and co-hosting the public affairs program Hoy Gising! (1992–1996). Her career transitioned into a primary anchor role when she took multiple stints on the flagship newscast TV Patrol, serving as anchor during periods including 1995–1996, 2001–2004, and 2010–2015. She also anchored the late-night newscast Bandila from 2006 to 2009. However, it was her shift to news magazine hosting that showcased her unique approach to storytelling. Her program, Rated K, which premiered on May 30, 2004, quickly became a weekend staple, running for sixteen successful years until May 3, 2020. Her journalistic contributions were recognized with numerous accolades, including multiple Best Magazine Show Host awards from the PMPC Star Awards for Television.
Following the shutdown of ABS-CBN’s free-to-air broadcast in 2020, Sanchez signed with Brightlight Productions. This move led her show, rebranded as Rated Korina, to transfer to TV5, where it premiered its second incarnation on October 24, 2020. The program subsequently expanded its reach through co-production deals, including a return to air on ABS-CBN platforms beginning July 5, 2023. Further cementing her multi-platform presence, she took on the hosting duties for the newly revamped show Face to Face: Harapan on TV5, starting on November 11, 2024.
Controversies
Throughout her extensive career, Sanchez has occasionally faced public scrutiny over her commentary and interviews. One notable instance occurred around 2013 and 2014 when she publicly challenged CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper’s reporting on the slow pace of aid delivery following Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Tacloban. More recently, in August 2025, her production team was drawn into a controversy concerning an interview with contractor-politician Sarah Discaya. The interview, which had aired in January 2025 (and a related segment in November 2024), resurfaced after criticism from Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto regarding journalists giving airtime to political rivals and suggestions of placement fees. Sanchez’s production team strongly refuted the claim of a “P10 million placement” for the interview, clarifying that the feature was handled as a straightforward human interest story, and that any commercial payments made were for advertisements to the network, not for the editorial content. They further stated that the show was unaware the interviewee was a mayoral candidate until the day of taping and that the feature had been removed from official channels months before the controversy escalated. Despite these occasional periods of intense public discussion, Korina Sanchez maintains her stature as a dedicated, award-winning trimedia journalist, constantly adapting to the evolving landscape of Philippine media while remaining a prominent and influential voice.
See also: Kara David Biography