Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH  CONGRESS
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOuse Bill NO. rm
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INTRODUCED  BY
REP. ZIAUR-RAHMAN ``ZIA" ALONTO ADIONG
AN ACT
RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS THE
FRANCHISE GRANTED TO RANAO RADIO BROADCASTING AND TV
SYSTEM CORPORATION UNDER FLEPUBLIC ACT NO. 9063 ENTITLED
``AN ACT GRANTING THE RANAO RADIO BROADCASTING AND TV
SYSTEM CORPORATION A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL,
ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN RADIO AND TELEVISION
BFLOADCASTING STATIONS IN LANAO DEL SUR
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The  bill  seeks  to  renew  the  franchise  granted  to  Ranao  Radio  Broadcasting  And  TV  System
Corporation to,  install,  establish,  operate,  and maintain TV and radio broadcasting stations in  Lanao
del Sur.
TV and  radio broadcasting station is a reliable and accessible medium to use for prompt and timely
circulation of information.  In  Lanao del Sur,  Ranao Radio Broadcasting And TV System Corporation
has  played  a  vital  role  in  information  dissemination  and  communication.  Throughout  the  years,  it
served as a means for real-time news, emergency, educational, and entertainment materials to reach
widespread audience hence,  keeping them updated with what is important,  current,  and/or on trend
therefore,   preventing  false  and  outdated   news  to  proliferate.   Moreover,   it  served  as  a  trusted
companion,  especially  to  the  elderly  and/or technologically  inexperienced,  for  its  ease  of  use  and
availability despite unstable electricity in the province.
Therefore, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOuse Bill NO. 9m
INTRODUCED BY
REP. ZIAUR-RAHMAN "ZIA" ALONT0 ADI0NG
AN ACT
RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS THE
FRANCHISE GRANTED TO RANAO RADIO BROADCASTING AND TV
SYSTEM CORPORATION UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO, 9063 ENTITLED
``AN ACT GRANTING THE RANAO RADIO BROADCASTING AND TV
SYSTEM CORPORATION A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL,
ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN  RADIO AND TELEVISION
BROADCASTING STATIONS IN LANAO DEL SUR
Be it enacted by the Senate and 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,  the franchise granted to  Ranao  Radio  Broadcasting  and TV
System Corporation,  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 television broadcasting stations in  Lanao del Sur, 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  broadcasting  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 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 grantee's services
and/or 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  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
or 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 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
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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 a 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 in effect for a period of twenty-five (25) years
from the  date of effectivify 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  operations  within  one  (1)  year from  the  approval  of  its  operating  permit  or
provisional authority by the NTC;
(b)Operate continuously for two (2) years; and
(c)Commence operations within three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act.
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:
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;  or 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 8. Warranty in Favor of National and Local Governments.-The grantee shall hold the national,
provincial and municipal governments of the Philippines harmless from all claims, accounts, demands
or  actions  arising  out  of  accidents  or  injuries,  whether  to  property  or  to  persons,  caused  by  the
construction or operation of the stations of the grantee.
Section  9.  Commitment to  Provide and  Promote the Creation of Employment Opportunities. - The
Grantee shall create employment opportunities and  accept on-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.  Sale,  Lease,  Transfer,  Usufruct,  etc.-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. 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 constitutional provisions to encourage public
participation in public utilities, the grantee shall offer at least thirty per centum (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 12.  Equality Clause. -Any advantage, favor,  privilege, exemption or immunity granted  under
existing franchises,  or may hereafter be granted, shall  ipso facto become part of previously granted
telecommunications franchises and shall be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the grantees
of such franchises:  Provided,  however, That the foregoing shall neither apply to nor affect provisions
of telecommunications franchises concerning territory covered by the franchise, the life span of the
franchise, or the type of service authorized by the franchise.
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Section 13. Separability clause.-lf any of the sections or provisions of this Act is held invalid, all the
other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.
Section 14. Repealability 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   15.  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 16. 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  17.  Effectivity.-This Act shall take effect fifteen  (15) days from the date of its publication  in
the Offlcfa/ Gazeffe or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,
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