This is not always the case online. The murky, unregulated waters of the digital realm have drastically changed the way people consume their information. Algorithms and social media platforms have become the primary vectors of news and media, often creating more polarising opinions and exacerbating partisanship. “In this age of disinformation, it’s crucial to have more institutional news organisations, that information is vetted, context is given. There is a whole process behind the breaking of a story. There is accountability.”

In the past decade, news and media have had the daunting task of adapting quickly to stay afloat as traditional television slowly becomes obsolete. However, for ABS-CBN, the web offered a lifeline to its audience when the Duterte administration ordered its closure in May 2020. Davila, while reporting on the entire process, had to walk the difficult line of being an impartial journalist while standing up not only for her convictions, but for her colleagues and their careers.

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“All human beings have some sort of bias, but a journalist is trained to fight those biases and to ask the right questions to get to the truth,” she explains. “People often think that being impartial means you don’t have conviction. If you believe that a free press is a constitutional right, that it’s essential in a democratic society, then with that alone, you cannot be completely impartial.”

But how does Davila use her reach to influence positive change? “You become an advocate. Education, women’s rights, free press…Journalists all over the world fight for basic human rights.” However, she further expresses the importance of knowing one’s limits and responsibilities as a journalist. “There is nothing wrong with being an advocate and still being a journalist, but you can’t advocate for everything. For example, policy: you are a journalist when policy changes are being made. You need to be able to bring all sides out for the public to understand what’s at stake for them.”

When asked why she carries on despite the constant mudslinging, Davila cites her inspiration in Simon Sinek’s book, Know Your Why. “How do you know your why? First, you have to know what you won’t do. What are the boundaries? I always understood that media was the Fourth Estate, even as a student attending UP. But when you are actually living it, you realise: ‘I’m a voice.’ Then I understood that it’s a voice that can be corrupted. Right away, I decided that I will not take any money to corrupt my voice.”

From when her mass communications professor encouraged a young and inexperienced Davila to explore a career in broadcasting up until her significant following today, she has always grasped the significance of her influential platform. “I recognised that I could be a different voice in different times, for different purposes. But if you are a corrupted voice, you are no longer a voice. Journalists aren’t perfect. We can be wrong, but the odds are better when you keep your integrity.”

Davila’s hours are also gruelling, oftentimes working late into the night and waking up at dawn the next day, over and over again. “There have been many times that I wanted to quit, but for some reason I fight it out with resilience. People have asked me what’s the secret to success and I always say that it’s not talent. Talent just gets your foot in the door, but it’s really grit. Grit is the word. Grit is what makes you not quit. Sometimes people think there’s deep analysis or self-reflection. No, it’s just the strength to know I am just going to do this. I did badly today but tomorrow is another day.”

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Rather than outsourcing the care of her son, Davila used her journalistic skills and dove deeply into the world of the autism spectrum. “I researched the best alternative ways to treat David, even if it meant giving him more attention and care.” Today her son David is 19 and enrolled at university, an accomplishment she feels grateful for. “No amount of success, fame, or wealth can equal the joy of knowing David will become a productive individual, one present in every moment and who enjoys relationships with those who love him!”

Her faith gives Davila the strength she needs to always push forward. “I am a Born-Again Christian, so my faith in the Lord is what drives me as a person,” she shares. “I don’t want to waste the one life that I have and throw it away by not making any kind of difference, no matter how small. What I want is to be able to use the talents I have been given for something of value. The idea is value creation, I want to create value in anything that I do.”

Even if she wasn’t a journalist, this purpose would carry over. “I would most likely be in some kind of public service or in an international, non-government organisation. I would probably be somewhere in Africa with the refugees. I am truly an adventurer at heart, and I would be in the field, not in an office.” Then she pauses and laughs. “But the other side of me would have wanted to be something like Donna Karan and fulfil my fashion designer dreams.”

It is not a stretch to imagine that Davila could perhaps follow in the footsteps of De Castro and try her hand in local politics, but she firmly states that it is not for her, despite being asked to run for the senate in the past. “I could not imagine it… If I retire, hypothetically, I would like to be an ambassador, wherein I could be a liaison for a big issue that is important to the country.”

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