GMA drops court challenge vs SEC

MANILA, Philippines – Broadcast giant GMA Network Inc. has formally withdrawn its court challenge against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) controversial independent director term limit rules, ending a legal battle that had drawn attention across the corporate sector.

In a disclosure on Thursday, GMA said the Regional Trial Court of Makati City, Branch 138, granted the company’s motion to withdraw its petition questioning SEC Memorandum Circular No. 7, Series of 2026. The order was dated June 2.

READ: Court denies GMA push vs SEC term rule

The petition, filed in March, sought to nullify the SEC circular and asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order, a writ of preliminary injunction and other injunctive remedies against its implementation.

GMA said the court granted the company’s withdrawal or desistance from pursuing the certiorari petition. The case was docketed as R-MKT-26-00885-SC, with GMA as petitioner and the SEC as respondent.

This marks the latest turn in a dispute that emerged after the SEC issued governance rules imposing term limits on independent directors.

GMA had challenged the circular after it affected long-serving independent directors, including former chief justice Artemio Panganiban and former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Jaime Laya, who have served on the network’s board since 2007.

Earlier this year, the company sought judicial relief after the SEC denied its request to move its annual stockholders’ meeting.

A Makati court also previously denied GMA’s request for a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the rules.

The withdrawal follows a May 21 special board meeting in which GMA’s board of directors authorized the filing of the motion to withdraw the petition, the company said.

“The foregoing incident has no impact on the financial condition and business operations of the company,” GMA said.

The SEC’s independent director term limit framework has been closely watched by listed companies as regulators push for stronger corporate governance standards and periodic board refreshment across the Philippine corporate sector.

Under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 17, Series of 2026, broker directors may now serve a maximum cumulative term of 10 years in the same exchange, whether consecutive or intermittent. INQ