Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

Second Regular Session

. 5918

House Bill No.

Introduced by HON. JOSE MA. F. ZUBIRI It

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Broadcasting is as vital as our natural resources. It serves as one of the
mediums of communication where information is relayed and received by the
people on matters concerning important public issues, health, among others.
The Philippines, by opening its doors to new broadcasting services will promote
the upliftment, improvement and expansion on how the public is reached.

As embodied in Section 24, Article II of the 1987 Constitution, the State
recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation building.
Explicitly, the State recognizes the establishment of communication and
information facilities.

Indeed, for an archipelagic country with a wid
uneven level of development, broadcasting serv
and democratizing force.

dispersed population and an
provide a unifying, uplifting

audioWAV MEDIA, INC, intends to do its share in improving the way and in
expanding on how the public is reached. The company will avail of state-of-the-
art and appropriate technologies that will allow the most effective and efficient
delivery of its services to as many of our countrymen, especially in the
countryside.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly requested.

ee oe
SE MA. F. IRI TL

Representative
3" District, Bukidnon


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

Second Regular Session

House Bill No.__ 0918

Introduced by HON. JOSE MA. F. ZUBIRI III

AN ACT
GRANTING THE audioWAV MEDIA, INC. A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT,
INSTALL, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN RADIO AND TELEVISION
BROADCASTING STATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Nature and Scope of Franchise. - Subject to the provisions of
the Constitution and applicable laws, rules and regulations, there is hereby
granted to audioWAV MEDIA, INC., hereunder referred to as the grantee, its
successors or assigns, a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and
maintain for commercial purposes and in the public interest, radio and/or
television broadcasting stations in the Philippines, where frequencies and/or
channels are still available for radio and/or television broadcasting, through
microwave, satellite or whatever means, including the use of any new
technologies in television and radio systems, with the corresponding
technological auxiliaries and facilities, special broadcast and other program
and distribution services and relay stations.

SECTION 2. Manner of Operation of Stations of 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 right to use its selected
wavelengths or frequencies and the quality of transmission or reception
thereon as should maximize rendition of the grantees services and/or the

availability thereof.

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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 and facilities and shall not use any frequency in
the radio/television spectrum without having been authorized by the
Commission. The Commission, however, shall not unreasonably withhold or
delay the grant of any such authority.

SECTION 4. Responsibility to the Public. - The grantee shall provide
adequate public service time to enable the government, through the said
broadcasting stations or facilities, to reach the population on important public
issues; provide at all times sound and balanced programming; assist in the
functions of public information and education; conform to the ethics of honest
enterprise; and not use its stations and facilities for the broadcasting of
obscene and indecent language, speech, act or scene; or for the dissemination
of deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation, to the detriment of
the public interest, or to incite, encourage or assist in subversive or
treasonable acts.

SECTION 5. Right of Government. - A special right is hereby granted 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 they
shall be so operated.

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 anytime after due process.


SECTION 6. Term of Franchise. - This franchise shall be for a term of
twenty-five (25) years from the date of effectivity of this Act, unless sooner
revoked or cancelled. This franchise shall be deemed ipso facto revoked in the
event the grantee fails to comply with any of the following conditions:

(a) Commence operation within one (1) year from the approval of its
operating permit by the National Telecommunications Commission;

(b) Operate continuously for two (2) years; and

(c) Commence operations within three (3) years from the effectivity of this
Act.

SECTION 7. Acceptance and Compliance. — Acceptance of this franchise
shall be given in writing within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act.
Upon giving such acceptance, the grantee shall exercise the privileges granted
under this Act. Nonacceptance shall render the franchise void.

SECTION 8. Bond. - The grantee shall file a bond issued in favor of the
National Telecommunications Commission, which shall determine the amount,
to guarantee the compliance with and fulfillment of the conditions under which
this franchise is granted. If, after three (3) years from the date of the approval
of its permit by the Commission, the grantee shall have fulfilled the same, the
bond shall be cancelled by the Commission. Otherwise, the bond shall be
forfeited in favor of the government and the franchise ipso facto revoked.

SECTION 9. 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; Provided, That the
grantee, during any broadcast, shall cut off from the air the speech, play, act or
scene, or other matter being broadcast if the tendency thereof is to propose
and/or incite treason, rebellion, or sedition; of the language used therein or the
theme thereof is indecent or immoral; and willful failure to do so shall

constitute a valid cause for the cancellation of this franchise.


SECTION 10. Warranty in Favor of the National and Local Governments. —
‘The grantee shall hold the national, provincial, city and municipal governments
of the Philippines harmless from all claims, accounts, demands or actions

SECTION 11. Nontransferability of Franchise. — The grantee shall not
lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, sell 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 shall the controlling interest of the grantee be transferred, whether
as a whole or in parts and whether simultaneously or contemporaneously, to
any such person, firm, company, corporation or entity without the prior
approval of the Congress of the Philippines. Provided, That the foregoing
limitation shall not apply to:

a. Any transfer or issuance of shares to any investor pursuant to or
in connection with any increase in the grantee’s authorized capital
stock which shall result in the dilution of the stockholdings of the
grantee’s then existing stockholders;

b. Any transfer or sale of shares of stock to an investor or investors;

c. Any sale, transfer or assignment by the stockholders of the grantee
in favor of a holding company whose stockholders are identical to
the stockholders of the grantee;

d. Any combination thereof where such transfer, sale or issuance is
effected in order to enable the grantee to raise the necessary
capital or financing for the provision of any services authorized by
this Act and/or carry out any of the purposes for which the
grantee has been incorporated or organized.

Any person or entity to which the franchise is sold, transferred or
assigned, shall be subject to the same conditions, terms, restrictions and
limitation of this Act.

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SECTION 12. Dispersal of Ownership. - In accordance with the
constitutional provision to encourage public participation in public utilities, the
grantee shall offer at least thirty percentum (30%) of its outstanding capital
stock or a higher percentage that may hereafter be provided by law in any
securities exchange in the Philippines within five (5) years from the time it has
achieved the status of a national broadcasting network. A ‘national
broadcasting network” is hereby defined as one that operates three (3) or more
radio and/or television stations. Noncompliance therewith shall render the

franchise ipso facto revoked.

SECTION 13. Equality Clause. - Any advantage, favor, privilege,
exemption, or immunity granted under existing franchise, or which may
hereafter be granted for radio and/or television broadcasting, shall ipso facto
become part of this franchise and shall be accorded immediately and
unconditionally to the herein grantee: Provided, however, That the foregoing
shall neither apply to nor affect provisions of broadcasting franchises
concerning territory covered by the franchise, the life span of the franchise or
the type of service authorized by the franchise.

SECTION 14. General Broadcast Policy Law. - The grantee shall comply
with and subject to the provisions of a general broadcast policy law, which
Congress may hereafter enact.

SECTION 15. Reportorial Requirement. — The grantee shall submit an
annual report to the Congress of the Philippines on its compliance with the
terms and conditions of the franchise and on its operations within sixty (60)
days from the end of every year.

SECTION 16. 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 17. Repealabitity and Nonexclusivity 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.


SECTION 18. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days from the date of its publication, upon the initiative of the grantee, in at
least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,