Republtt  of  toe  Pbmppines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL No.  8118
Introduced by HON. KHYMER ADAN T. OLASO
Representative,1St District, Zamboanga City
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This  bill  seeks  the  renewal  of  the  legislative  franchise  granted  to  Westwind
Broadcasting Corporation under RA 8687, and the expansion of its operation to cover the
entire Philippines.
In compliance with the policy of the State and as provided for in Article  11  of our
Constitution, specifically Section 24, in re: State Policies -that "the State recognizes the
vital  role of communications and  information  in  nation  building," it now seeks to secure
the renewal of its Congressional Franchise.
Westwind Broadcasting Corporation served as a tool for news, public information,
music and entertainment for Zamboanga City and other areas.  It delivers mix of music
and public affairs programming styles and is one of the most listened to and trusted radio
stations in Zamboanga Peninsula. During its operation, the grantee has demonstrated its
unqualified  support to the  ideals  and  polices  of the government and  has  managed  to
maintain a well-balanced programming in the interest of truth, honesty, and integrity.
Given  the  economic  and  health  challenges  brought  about  by  the  pandemic,
Westwind  Broadcasting  Corporation  aims  to  continuously  improve  and  innovate  the
delivery of its brand of service not only within its frequency coverages but to other parts
of the Philippines as well.
Our country needs further stimulation of information provided by broadcast stations
to  provide the  public a wider spectrum  of ideas,  insightful  information,  and  to  promote
collective involvement in governance and public service. It is for this reason that Westwind
Broadcasting Corporation seeks to expand its operation to cover the whole Philippines.
Moreover,  the  same  would  enhance  competition  among  legislative  franchise
holders in the area of public service and generate jobs to the populace.
It is on this note that the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
YMER ADAN T. OLASO
epresentative
t District, Zamboanga City


Republit  ot  toe  Pbtltppines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
®u.'®n ¢'tp, J".tro jm"i'd
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HoUSE BILL No.  8118
Introduced by
HON. KHYMER ADAN T. OLASO
Representative,1 St District, Zamboanga City
AN ACT RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY FIVE (25) YEARS THE FRANCHISE
GRANTED TO WEsll^/lND  BROADCASTING CORPORATION UNDER REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 8687, ENTITLED "AN ACT GRANTING THE WESTWIND
BROADCASTING CORPORATION A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL,
ESTABLISH, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS IN
THE VISAYAS AND MINDANAO"
Be it enacted by the Senate and  House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:
SECTloN  1.  Nature and  Scope of Franchise. -Subject to the provisions of the
Constitution   and   applicable   laws,   rules   and   regulations,   the  franchise   granted   to
WEsll/VIND BROADCASTING CORPORATION, hereunder referred to as the Grantee,
its successors or assignees, under Republic Act No. 8687 to construct, install, establish,
operate,  and  maintain for commercial purposes and  in the public interest,  radio and/or
television  broadcasting  stations  in  the Visayas  and  Mindanao,  where frequencies  and
channels   are   still   available   for   radio   and   television   broadcasting,   including   digital
television system, through microwave, satellite, or whatever means, as well as the use of
any new technology in radio and television systems, with the corresponding technological
auxiliaries and facilities, special broadcast, and other program and distribution services,
and relay stations, is hereby renewed for another twenty-five (25) years.
SECTION  2.  Manner  of  Operation  of  Stations  or  Facilities.  -  The  stations  or
facilities of the Grantee shall be constructed and operated in a manner as will, at most,
result only  in  the  minimum  interference on the wavelengths  or frequencies of existing
stations or other stations which may be established by law, without jn any way diminishing
its  own  privilege  to  use  its  assigned  wavelengths  or frequencies,  and  the  quality  of
transmission  or reception thereon  should  maximize  rendition of the Grantee's services
and the availability thereof.
SECTION  3.  Prior Approval of the National Telecommunications Commission. -
The Grantee shall secure from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) the
appropriate  permits  and  licenses  for the  construction  and  operation  of  its  stations  or
facilities, and shall not use any frequency in the radio spectrum without authorization from


the NTC. The NTC,  however, shall not unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of any
such authority.
In case of any violation of the provisions of this franchise, the NTC shall have the
authority  to  revoke  or  suspend,  after  due  process,  the  permits  or  licenses  it  issued
pursuant to the franchise. The NTC may recommend to Congress of the Philippines the
revocation of the franchise for any violation of the provisions of this franchise.
SECTION  4.  Responsibilfty to the  Public.  - The  Grantee  shall  provide,  free  of
charge,  adequate  public service time which  is  reasonable and  sufficient to  enable the
government, through the broadcasting stations or facilities of the Grantee, to reach the
pertinent populations or portions thereof, on important public issues and relay important
public announcements and warnings concerning public emergencies and calamities, as
necessity,   urgency,   or  law  may  require;   provide  at  all  times  sound  and  balanced
programming;  promote  public participation;  assist in the functions of public information
and education; conform to the ethics of honest enterprise;  promote audience sensibility
and empowerment including closed captioning and not use its stations or facilities for the
broadcasting of obscene or indecent language, speech, act or scene, the dissemination
of deliberately false  information  or willful  misrepresentation,  to  the  detriment of public
interest, or to incite, encourage, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.
Public service time referred herein shall be equivalent to a maximum aggregate of
ten percent (10%) of paid commercials or advertisements which shall be allocated based
on   need   to   the   Executive   and   Legislative   branches,   the   Judiciary,   Constitutional
Commissions, and international humanitarian organizations duly recognized by statutes:
Provided,  that  the  NTC  shall  increase  the  public  service  time  in  case  of  extreme
emergency or calamity. The NTC shall issue rules and regulations for this purpose, the
effectivity  of  which   shall   commence   upon   applicabjlity  with   other  similarly  situated
broadcast network franchise holders.
Pursuant to Republic Act No. 8370, otherwise known as the "Children's Television
Act of 1997", the Grantee shall allot a minimum of ffiteen percent (150/o) of the daily total
air time of each broadcasting network or station to child-friendly shows within its regular
programming.
SECTION 5.  Right of the Government. -The radio spectrum is a finite resource
that is part of the national patrimony, and the use thereof is a privilege conferred upon the
Grantee by the State that may be withdrawn any time after due process.
A special right is hereby reserved to the President of the Philippines,  in times of
war,  rebellion,  public peril,  calamity,  emergency,  disaster,  or disturbance of peace and
order:  to temporarily take over and  operate the stations or facilities of the  Grantee;  to
temporarily suspend the operation of any station or facility in the interest of public safety,
security, and public welfare; or to authorize the temporary use and operation thereof by
any agency of the government,  upon due compensation to the Grantee, for the use of
said stations or facilities during the period when these shall be so operated.
SECTION 6. Term of Franchise. -This franchise shall be in effect for a period of
twenty-five (25) years from the effectivity of this Act, unless sooner revoked or cancelled.
This  franchise  shall  be  deemed  /.pso  facto  revoked  in  the  event the  Grantee  fails  to
operate continuously for two (2) years.
SECTION 7. Self-regulation by and Undertaking of Grantee. -The Grantee shall
not require any previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter to
be broadcast from its stations, but if any such speech, play, act or scene, or other matter
should constitute a violation of the law or infringement of a private right, the Grantee shall
be free from any liability,  civil or criminal, for such speech,  play,  act or scene,  or other


matter: Provided, that the Grantee, during any broadcast, shall cut off the airing of speech,
play, act or scene, or other matter being broadcast if the tendency thereof is to propose
or incite treason, rebellion, or sedition; or the language used therein or the theme thereof
is indecent or immoral: Provided, further, that willful failure to do so shall constitute a valid
cause for the cancellation of this franchise.
SECTION  8. Warranty in  Favor of the  National  and  Local  Governments.  - The
Grantee  shall  hold  the  national,  provincial,   city,  and  municipal  governments  of  the
Philippines free from  all  claims,  liabilities,  demands,  or actions arising  out of accidents
causing injury to persons or damage to properties, during the construction or operation of
the stations of the Grantee.
SECTloN  9.  Commitment to  Provide and  Promote the Creation of Employment
Opportunities. -The Grantee shall create employment opportunities and accept on-the-
job trainees in the franchise operations:  Provided, that priority shall be accorded to the
residents  of the  place  where  the  principal  office  of the  Grantee  is  located:  Provided,
further, that the Grantee shall comply with the applicable labor standards and allowance
entitlement under existing labor laws, rules and regulations and similar issuances.
The employment opportunities or jobs created  shall  be  reflected  in the General
Information  Sheet  (GIS) to  be  submitted  to the  Securities and  Exchange  Commission
(SEC) annually.
SECTION   10.   Sales,   Lease,   Transfer,   Grant  of  Usufruct,   or  Assignment  of
Franchise. -The Grantee shall not sell,  lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of,  nor assign
this  franchise  or  the  rights  and  privileges  acquired  thereunder  to  any  person,  firm,
company,  corporation  or  other  commercial  or  legal  entity,  nor  merge  with  any  other
corporations  or  entity,  nor  shall  be  controlling  interest  of the  Grantee  be  transferred,
simultaneously  or  contemporaneously,  to  any  person,  firm,  company,  corporation,  or
entity without the prior approval of Congress. The Grantee shall inform Congress, through
the  Office  of the  Speaker of the  House  of Representatives  and  Office  of the  Senate
President, of any sale,  lease, transfer, grant of usufruct, or assignment of franchise, or
the rights and privileges acquired thereunder, or of the merger or transfer of the controlling
interest of the Grantee, within si)cry (60) days after the completion of the said transaction.
Failure to report to Congress such change of ownership shall render the franchise i.pso
facfo revoked. Any person or entity to which this franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned
shall be subject to the same conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of this Act.
SECTION  11.  Dispersal  of  Ownership.  -In  accordance  with  the  constitutional
provision  to  encourage  public  participation  in  public  utilities,  the  Grantee  shall  offer to
Filipino citizens at least thirty percent (30%) of its outstanding capital stocks, or a higher
percentage  that  may  hereafter be  provided  by  law,  in  any securities  exchange  in  the
Philippines within  five  (5)  years from  the effectivity of this Act:  Provided,  that  in  cases
where  public  offer  of  shares  is  not  applicable,  other  methods  of  encouraging  public
participation by citizens and corporations operating public utilities must be implemented.
Noncompliance therewith shall render the franchise i.pso facfo revoked.
SECTION 12. General Broadcast Policy Law. -The Grantee shall comply with and
be  subject  to  the  provisions  of a  general  broadcast  policy  law,  which  Congress  may
hereafter enact.
SECTION  13.  Reportorial  Requirement.  -The  Grantee  shall  submit  an  annual
report  on  its  compliance  with  the  terms  and  conditions  of  the  franchise  and  on  its
operations  to  the  Congress  of the  Philippines,  through  the  Committee  on  Legislative
Franchises of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Public Services of the
Senate, on or before April 30 of every year during the term of its franchise.


The  annual  report  shall  include  an  update  on  the  commencement  of activities,
development, operation or expansion of business; audited financial statements; latest GIS
officially submitted to the SEC,  if applicable; certification of the NTC on the status of its
permits  and  operations;  and  an  update  on  the  dispersal  of ownership  undertaking,  if
applicable.
The reportorial compliance certificate issued by Congress shall be required before
any application for permit or certificate is accepted by the NTC.
SECTION  14.  Penalty clause.  - Failure of the  Grantee to submit the  requisite
annual report to Congress shall be penalized by a fine of Five Hundred Pesos (P500.00)
per working day of noncompliance to the NTC. The fine shall be collected separately from
the reportorial penalties imposed by the NTC and it shall be remitted to the Bureau of the
Treasury.
SECTION  15.  Equality Clause.  -Any advantage,  favor,  privilege,  exemption  or
immunity granted under existing franchises, or which may hereafter be granted for radio
broadcasting,  upon  prior  review and  approval  of Congress,  shall  become  part  of this
franchise and shall be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the herein Grantee:
Provided,   that   the   foregoing   shall   neither   apply   to,   nor   affect   the   provisions   of
broadcasting franchises concerning territorial coverage, the term, or the type of service
authorized by the franchise.
SECTloN 16. Repealabilfty and Nonexclusivity Clause. -This franchise shall be
subject to  amendment,  alteration,  or  repeal  by  Congress  when  the  public  interest  so
requires,  and  shall  not  be  interpreted  as  an  exclusive  grant  of  the  privileges  herein
provided for.
SECTloN 17. Separability Clause. -If any of the sections or provisions of this Act
is held invalid, all other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.
SECTION   18.   Repealing   clause.   -  All   laws,   decrees,   orders,   resolutions,
instructions,  rules  and  regulations,  and  other  issuances,  or  parts  thereof  which  are
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are  hereby repealed,  amended,  or modified
accordingly.
SECTION  19.  Effectivity.  -This Act  shall  take  effect ffteen  (15)  days  after  its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,