The legal issue stems from an alleged misapproriated fund that the production company owed the network.
In a public statement on Thursday, May 22, GMA Network, Inc. said that it has filed a criminal complaint for estafa with abuse of confidence against officers of Television and Production Exponents, Inc. (TAPE).
This is due to the alleged misappropriation of funds totaling Php 37,941,352.56.
“The complaint stems from respondents’ failure to remit advertising revenues collected from clients, which had been contractually assigned to GMA Network under a 2023 Assignment Agreement,” the Kapuso network explained.
It continued, “Despite multiple formal demands, the funds were not transferred to GMA because they were instead used for TAPE’s operational expenses, in violation of the trust arrangement outlined in the agreement.”
GMA also named the respondents in the complaint, which they reportedly filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City.
These are executives of TAPE, led by its former President and CEO Romeo Jalosjos, Jr.; his father Romeo Jalosjos, Sr., who sits as the Chairman of the Board; Company Treasurer Seth Frederick “Bullet” Jalosjos; Malou Choa-Fagar, the former COO and current President and CEO; Michaela Magtoto, former Senior Vice President for Finance; and Zenaida Buenavista, TAPE’s Finance Consultant.
“GMA Network is pursuing legal action to hold the responsible officers accountable and to recover the misappropriated amount,” the network ended its statement.
In response, Atty. Maggie Garduque said, in an interview with the Inquirer, that her clients are not aware of the case and that it has not yet been filed in actuality.
“I called TAPE about the article published at GMA but they did not know anything about it. I directed one of the alleged respondents in said case to go to the office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City to check on the case, but she was informed that no case was filed against them by GMA,” said Atty. Garduque.
She shared that the TAPE group was surprised to know it via the news article and that they will be issuing a concrete reply once they have received the copy of GMA’s case.
“Anyway, TAPE has not received any copy of the complaint filed against them. They will issue a statement as soon as they receive a copy of the complaint, if indeed there is. Rest assured that they will follow and respect the legal proceedings.”
GMA-TAPE RELATIONSHIP
GMA and TAPE’s relationship dates back to 1995 when the longest-running noontime show, ‘Eat Bulaga,’ made its move from ABS-CBN to the then-Rainbow Satellite Network due to differences with its former home station.
During its stay in the network, ‘EB’ celebrated major milestones, including its Silver Anniversary special in 2004 and the groundbreaking Tamang Panahon Concert at the Philippine Arena during the AlDub phenomenon in 2015.
GMA and TAPE also had their own dramatic ventures, with multiple afternoon soaps produced by the latter airing on the network from the early to mid-2000s.
Back to ‘Bulaga,’ amid internal scuffles between the new TAPE management of the younger Jalosjos family members and the production team—including main hosts Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon (TVJ)—most of the original group departed the production company on May 31, 2023.
As a result, TAPE, Inc. had to produce its own iteration of ‘Eat Bulaga’ beginning June 5, 2023, with new hosts led by Paolo Contis, Betong Sumaya, Buboy Villar, and later, Isko Moreno.
A separate legal battle concerning copyright and trademark ensued, while the TVJ team mounted the temporary spiritual successor of their show on TV5, ‘E.A.T.,’ in July that year.
After over five months, in December 2023, a Marikina court handed down its decision that sided with TVJ and required TAPE to renounce the use of the ‘Eat Bulaga’ name for its GMA noontime show.
As a result, the TAPE show was retired ‘Tahanang Pinakamasaya’ by January 6, 2024, while retaining its hosts and segments.
But due to poor ratings, ‘TP’ was officially axed by TAPE on March 2, with repeats airing until May 7, 2024.
GMA then teamed-up with ABS-CBN Studios for the simulcast of Kapamilya variety program ‘It’s Showtime‘ beginning April 6, 2024.
Since then, TAPE’s comeback has only been widely speculated, with some reports late last year indicating that it is interested to take a slot in either GMA or GTV for a new variety show.
It was neither confirmed, nor denied by the parties involved.