Carmela "Mel" Corro Tiangco (Tagalog pronunciation:[ˈtʃaŋkɔ]; born August 10, 1955) is a Filipino television newscaster and television host. She is one of the news pillars of GMA Integrated News, GMA Public Affairs and a multi-awarded news anchor.
Biography
Carmela Corro Tiangco was born on August 10, 1955, in Bataan to Arsenio Tiangco Sr. and Florencia Corro.
Media career
After graduating from De La Salle University, she became one of the leading presenters in Philippine television journal programs.
Even prior to being part of GMA, Tiangco has been involved in public service[8] and philanthropic acts.[12] While in GMA, she served as the executive director of the network's public service arm Bisig Bayan; in 2002, she became part of the GMA Kapuso Foundation,[8] the socio-civic arm,[20] where she served as the executive vice president[20][21] and chief operating officer[21] (until April 2016).
Personal life
Tiangco married at a young age,[8] but was annulled in 1994.[10] She has four children,[8] including musician Wency Cornejo (best known as the lead vocalist of rock band AfterImage which was active in the 1990s), as well as Ana Teresa, Melanie and Jose Miguel.[22]
In 1997, Tiangco underwent angioplasty after suffering a massive heart attack, with a huge amount of blood being replaced to survive. It is said the reason being part of a socio-civic group, among her other missions.[20]
Suspension and transfer to another network
On January 16, 1996, ABS-CBN suspended Tiangco for three months without pay as co-anchor of TV Patrol and Mel & Jay (then a radio program on DZMM)[23] following her appearance in a television advertisement for Tide in December 1995, allegedly a violation of an earlier-issued circular prohibiting news personalities from doing so[24] without the network's prior approval,[23] which was considered a breach of company rules.[25][26][27] Reportedly, this is universally enforced in all print and broadcast meant to avoid any suspicions of bias or favoritism.[26]
She then went on indefinite leave of absence; while Sonza resigned. Both transferred to GMA 7.[23][28]
Complaint against ABS-CBN on her dismissal
On March 11, 1996, Tiangco filed a complaint against ABS-CBN Corporation for illegal dismissal and illegal suspension, as well as monetary claims. In April 1999, the Labor Arbiter ruled in Tiangco's favor. The said decision was later reversed in July 2006 by the National Labor Relations Commission, arguing that Tiangco and her co-host Jay Sonza (as also ruled by the Supreme Court in 2004, which eventually affirming the Labor Arbiter's dismissal of his own petition)[29] are "independent contractors."[25][27]
The decision was elevated to the Court of Appeals on the ground of grave abuse of discretion. The parties executed and signed a partial settlement agreement, dated December 15, 2011,[30] wherein Tiangco agreed that ABS-CBN paid her in full the amount covering specific monetary claims.[25][27]
The said agreement was approved by the CA in its January 27, 2012, decision which also declared that the other issues in the case were already moot.[25][27][30]
Tiangco then filed the petition for review questioning the CA ruling, which was later dismissed by the SC which upheld the earlier ruling[30] and decided that Tiangco is not entitled to the claims as she is an independent contractor.[25][27] The ruling, dated December 6, 2021, only publicly released on June 2, 2022.[31][32]
Complaint by ABS-CBN on her transfer to GMA
Also in 1996, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation filed a lawsuit against the two and GMA Network, Inc. before the Quezon CityRegional Trial Court to oblige them to comply to the contract banning them from working in any other media station for a year after they left the former network.[23][26][28]
The court ruled on June 26, 1998, validating their cancellation of their contracts with ABS-CBN,[23] as well as their transfer to GMA[28] which had no hand over their decision.[26]
The CA upheld the said decision on August 6, 2003,[26] citing lack of evidence that Tiangco violated the prohibition upon her appearance in the commercial, justifying her unilateral action in dissolving the agreement, and considering the fact that Sonza is redundant without her in the show.[23]
ABS-CBN later filed an appeal to reverse the ruling, which was dismissed by the SC, in a December 13, 2010, resolution, "for failure to sufficiently show any reversible error" in the CA's decision.[23][26][28]
According to GMA Network, the network's act of suspension to Tiangco without solid proof and legal basis is a grave breach of contract, and supports her termination of the contract.[26]
Despite the issue, Tiangco garnered support from the public. In the anniversary press conference for her show Magpakailanman on February 18, 2013, she said that she has already forgiven her former network. While she likened her experience in her former network similar to a cockroach being trampled on, she stated that she has already moved on from the suspension incident as she felt "vindicated" by her accomplishments in her current network and her program's success in the Philippine television.[26]
^the first season of Magpakailanman ended on December 27, 2007, with some rerun episodes aired on January 3, 2008. It officially ended January 31, 2008.
