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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
House Bill No. 9544
Introduced by Representative Richard I. Gomez, DPA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill seeks to renew the franchise granted to Wave Network, Inc. under Republic Act No. 8408 
entitled “AN ACT GRANTING WAVE NETWORK, INC. A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, 
INSTALL, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS 
ANYWHERE IN THE PHILIPPINES WHERE FREQUENCIES AND/OR CHANNELS ARE STILL 
AVAILABLE FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING,” which was approved on November 
23, 1997. 
Wave Network, Inc. is a broadcasting network that currently serves the Eastern Visayas region. It 
has radio and television stations in Samar and Leyte Provinces—with transmission sites and studios located 
in the municipalities of Salcedo, Borongan, Dolores, and Catarman, and the cities of Catbalogan, Baybay, 
Ormoc and Tacloban. The network plays a crucial role in the timely dissemination of information on current 
events, traffic, weather reports, community service announcements and local news to the listening public. 
As a broadcasting entity, it has endeavored to deliver quality news and entertainment programs in the local 
dialect, knowing that radio remains to be the reliable and cost-effective medium that engages audiences of 
all demographic profiles.  
In pursuit of extending Wave Network, Inc.’s commitment to public service, the immediate renewal 
of its franchise is sought to ensure that wholesome entertainment and balanced news reporting is made 
accessible to Filipinos in Region 8 and beyond.  
RICHARD I. GOMEZ, DPA 
November 14, 2023
2:12 pm


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
House Bill No. 9544 
___________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Representative Richard I. Gomez 
___________________________________________________________________________ 
AN ACT 
RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS THE FRANCHISE 
GRANTED TO WAVE NETWORK, INC. UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8408, 
ENTITLED "AN ACT GRANTING WAVE NETWORK, INC. A FRANCHISE TO 
CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN RADIO AND 
TELEVISION STATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE PHILIPPINES WHERE 
FREQUENCIES AND/OR CHANNELS ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR RADIO AND 
TELEVISION BROADCASTING" 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of file Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Nature and Scope of Franchise. – Subject to the provisions of the 
Constitution and applicable laws, rules and regulations, the franchise granted to Wave Network, 
Inc., hereunder referred to as the grantee, its successors or assignees, under Republic Act No. 
8408, to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain for commercial purposes and in the 
public interest, radio and television broadcasting stations in the Philippines where frequencies 
and/or channels are still available, including digital television systems through microwave, 
satellite or whatever means, as well as the use of any new technology in television and radio 
systems such as Multichannel Multi- point Distribution Systems (MMDS), Local Multi-point 
Distribution Systems (LMDS), Microwave Cable Television (MCTV), Multi-point Video 
Distribution System (MVDS), Direct To Home Satellite System (DTH-S), Wireless Multi-media 
Network System (WMNS), Digital Television Broadcast (DTB), Next Generation Television 
Broadcast (NEXTGENTV), Interactive Television (ITV), with corresponding technological 
auxiliaries and facilities, special broadcast and other program and distribution services and relay 
stations in the Philippines, including synthetic and artificial intelligence, and other technology 


 
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that may hereafter or in the future be developed, is hereby renewed for another twenty-five (25) 
years from the effectivity of this Act. 
 
 
SEC. 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 in any way diminishing its own privilege to use its 
assigned wavelengths or frequencies and the quality of transmission or reception thereon as 
should maximize rendition of the grantee's services and/or the availability thereof. 
 
 
 
SEC. 3. Prior Approval of the National Telecommunications Commission. – The grantee 
shall secure from the National Telecommunications Commissions (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/television spectrum without authorization from the NTC. The NTC, 
however, shall not unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of any such authority. 
 
The grantee shall not dispose or lease its facilities except to entities with radio or 
television broadcasting franchise: Provided, That the grantee shall inform and secure written 
authorization to proceed from the NTC and report the transaction to the NTC within sixty (60) 
days after its completion: Provided, further, That the NTC shall determine the corresponding 
sanction for any violation of this provision. 
 
In case of violation/s of any of the provisions of this franchise, the NTC shall have the 
authority to revoke or suspend, after due process, the permits, or licenses issued by the NTC 
pursuant to the franchise. NTC may recommend to Congress the revocation of the franchise if 
there are any violation/s of the provisions of the franchise. 
 
 
SEC. 4. Responsibility 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; or for 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 


 
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acts. 
 
Public service time referred herein shall be equivalent to a maximum aggregate of ten 
(10%) of the 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 applicability with 
other similarly situated broadcast network franchise holders. 
 
Pursuant to Republic Act No. 8370, the grantee shall allot a minimum of fifteen percent 
(15%) of the daily total airtime of each broadcasting network to child-friendly show/s within its 
regular programming. 
 
 
SEC. 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 
and 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 the station or facilities during the period when 
these shall be so operated. 
 
 
SEC. 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 ipso facto revoked in the event the grantee fails to operate continuously for two 
(2) years. 
 
 
SEC. 7. Self-regulation by and Undertaking of the 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 and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition; or the 
language used therein or the theme thereof is indecent or immoral: Provided, further, That 


 
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willful failure to do so shall constitute a valid cause for the cancellation of this franchise. 
 
SEC. 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. 
 
SEC. 9.  Commitment to Provide and Promote the Creation of Employment 
Opportunities. – The grantee shall create employment opportunities and shall allow on-the-job 
trainings in their franchise operations: Provided, That priority shall be accorded to the residents 
of the place where their principal office is located: Provided, further, that the grantee shall 
follow the applicable labor standards and allowance entitlement under existing labor laws, rules 
and regulations and similar issuances: Provided, finally, That 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. 
 
 
SEC. 10. Sale, 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 corporation or entity, nor the controlling 
interest of the grantee be transferred, simultaneously or contemporaneously, to any person, firm, 
company, corporation, or entity without the prior approval of the Congress of the Philippines.  
 
 
Congress shall be informed 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 sixty (60) days after the completion of the said 
transaction. Failure to report Congress such change of ownership shall render the franchise ipso 
facto 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. 
 
SEC. 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%) or a higher percentage that may hereafter be provided by law of its 
outstanding capital stock in any securities exchange in the Philippines within five (5) years from 
the commencement of its operations: Provided, That in cases where public offer of shares is not 
applicable, the grantee shall apply other methods of encouraging public participation by citizens 
and corporation operating public utilities as allowed by law. Noncompliance therewith shall 
render the franchise ipso facto revoked. 
 


 
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SEC. 12.  Reportorial Requirement. – The grantee shall submit an annual report 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 its compliance with the 
terms and conditions of the franchise and on its operations on or before April 30 of every year 
during the term of its franchise. 
 
The annual report shall include an update on the roll-out, development, operation and/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. 
 
SEC. 13. Fine.- 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. 
The fine shall be collected by the NTC from the delinquent franchise grantee separate from the 
reportorial penalties imposed by the NTC and the same shall be remitted to the Bureau of the 
Treasury. 
 
SEC. 14. Equality Clause. – Any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or immunity 
granted under existing franchises, or which may hereafter be granted for radio and/or television 
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. 
 
SEC. 15.  Repealability and Non-exclusivity Clause. – This franchise shall be subject to 
amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress of the Philippines when the public interest so 
requires and shall not be interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privileges herein provided for. 
 
 
SEC. 16. Separability Clause. – If any of these sections or provisions of this Act is held 
invalid, all other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid. 
 
SEC. 17. 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. 
 
SEC. 18. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
 
Approved, 


 
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