SC kills GMA’s ratings complaint against ABS-CBN

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the ruling that dismissed the complaint filed by media giant GMA Network against ABS-CBN over a dispute on television (TV) ratings.

Through the decision penned by Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, the SC 3rd Division denied the complaint for damages filed by GMA against ABS-CBN. The division ruled that the statements made by ABS-CBN hosts accusing GMA of allegedly manipulating a survey were not defamatory.

“The aired statements of ABS-CBN hosts are qualified privileged communications and constitute a fair and true report that GMA personnel visited homes to influence a TV ratings survey,” said the High Court.

Meanwhile, the SC division also dismissed ABS-CBN’s counterclaims complaint against GMA, which stemmed from the latter’s defamatory claim.

“ABS-CBN’s counterclaims were also dismissed. The SC said GMA was able to establish a cause of action based on the belief that the subject statements aired on ABS-CBN’s programs were defamatory,” the SC explained.

In upholding the dismissal of GMA’s complaint, the SC 3rd Division explained that defamation refers to the offense that injures a person’s character, fame, or reputation through false and malicious remarks. Every defamatory imputation, according to the SC, is believed to be malicious except when it includes privileged communication.

The two kinds of privileged communication are:

• Absolute – not actionable, even if the author acted in bad faith. Includes statements made by members of Congress in the discharge of their duties, and allegations made by parties in their pleadings, among others.
• Qualified – communications, although containing defamatory remarks, would not be actionable unless there’s malice or bad faith.

“The SC ruled that the utterances made by ABS-CBN’s hosts and guest speakers are considered qualified privileged communications and constitute a fair and true report based on their interpretation of [Maya] Reforma’s radio interview and the data analysis report submitted by AGB Nielsen,” the High Court said. Reforma was AGB Nielsen’s general manager at the time of the controversy.

There was no malice in the statements, according to the SC, because they were based on documentary evidence. In addition, the High Court said the remarks were covered by the fair comment doctrine because GMA is a public figure and a big entity “operating in an industry imbued with public interest.”

What happened before

It all started in 2007.

ABS-CBN tapped market researcher AGB Nielsen to supply ratings data for Mega Manila and other urban regions. The SC explained that this contract required that the locations of sample households called “Panel Homes” be kept confidential to prevent interference.

“Protecting the integrity of the TV ratings was crucial, as ABS-CBN relied on these data to decide which programs to air, their timing, and target audiences,” the SC said.

ABS-CBN, however, received reports that GMA-hired individuals allegedly contacted some panel homes to influence viewing data “by convincing residents to watch GMA programs.” The residents were allegedly given P500 in cash and P300 worth of groceries as monthly incentives.

An employee of GMA in Iloilo testified that the station manager allegedly ordered him and six others to look for panel homes and convince them to watch GMA programs in exchange for these incentives.

Reforma, according to the SC, admitted to the panel homes being tampered. ABS-CBN aired segments that carried Reforma’s statements.

As a response, GMA filed a complaint for damages against ABS-CBN before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), claiming that ABS-CBN allegedly twisted Reforma’s statements to declare that GMA manipulated the ratings. ABS-CBN then filed counterclaims for damages.

Later, the RTC dismissed the two complaints. The Court of Appeals also dismissed the legal actions, prompting the cases to be brought to the High Court. – Rappler.com