SEC junks Marcos’ petition questioning GMA Network shares

The Corporation Finance Department of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed the petition filed by former Representative Maria Imelda “Imee” Marcos to reject GMA Network’s registration statement and suspend GMA’s right to sell its shares to the public.

Marcos alleged in her complaint that GMA Network failed to disclose that the shares held in the name of Gilberto M. Duavit and his family were merely held in trust for the Marcoses, which constitutes an act of misrepresentation.

In response, GMA Network said that there was no misleading statement or failure to disclose the beneficial ownership of Mr. Duavit, his family or their family owned corporation. GMA Network said that these shares are owned by the Duavits and/or their family corporation in their own right and not as mere trustees of the Marcoses.

The SEC, through Corporate Finance Department Director Justina F. Callangan, dismissed Marcos’ allegation, stating that the obligation to disclose matters pertaining to Marcos’ claim involving the status and nature of the ownership of the Duavits’ GMA shares has not yet arisen considering that the Duavits categorically claim ownership over the subject GMA shares in their own right and that no pending case impugning the ownership of the said shares has been filed in court by Marcos against the Duavits.

The SEC also said that “the rejection of GMA’s registration statement cannot be granted because the company’s registration statement was already rendered effective by the Commission last July 16, 2007.”

The SEC said that there is no apparent misrepresentation as to the ownership of the subject GMA shares which would have been a ground for suspension because “Marcos failed to allege even a single pending legal proceeding where the issue of legal title over the subject shares has been raised.”

GMA Network legal counsel Gener Asuncion said that Gilberto M. Duavit and his family are the legitimate owners of the shares questioned by Marcos. “Those Duavit shares were acquired by them (Duavits) as early as September 1974 or thirty-three years now. They have been in possession of those shares for that long period of time,” Asuncion said.