THE Supreme Court has upheld a 2019 Court of Appeals ruling declaring nearly 100 talent workers of GMA Network as regular employees and not independent contractors, and affirming that around half of them were illegally dismissed.
In a resolution dated July 16, 2025, and released over the weekend, the Court’s Third Division denied GMA’s petition challenging the CA decision that regularized the employment of workers hired between 2003 and 2013.
The high court said GMA exercised control over the talents, citing provisions in the company’s Talent Agreement that allowed it to set production schedules and require their presence, contrary to its claim of flexible and independent work.
The Court ruled that an employer-employee relationship existed, rejecting GMA’s argument that higher talent fees and contractual terms negated regular employment.
The Court also partially granted another petition on the illegal dismissal case, ordering reinstatement with full back wages, allowances, and benefits, or separation pay if reinstatement is no longer feasible. Computation of awards, with six percent annual interest, was remanded to the labor arbiter.
Buhay Media welcomed the ruling, calling it a long-awaited victory for 94 members of the Talents Association of GMA.
