Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS:
Second Regular Session

HouseBnLNo, 6042

Introduced by HON. RANDOLPH S. TING.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill socks to grant we are IT Philippines, Inc. a franchise to construct, install,
‘establish, operate and maintain satellite and telecommunication systems throughout the
Philippines.

‘We are IT Philippines, Inc. (WIT), is @ leading internet sexvice provider authorized by the
NIC to provide satellite intemet service in the Philippines, currently through partnerships
‘with local telecom carriers. It was responsible for the transmission of electoral data
‘returns from Polling Centers and ‘Canvassing centers to the main data center that made
‘the 1st Automated 2010 National Elections possible. it also enables the transmission and
reception of satellite feeds for key government offices such as PAGASA, AFP and NPC.
"The bulk of its subscribers are national schools in the remotest areas of the Philippines.

“The company has been in operation for more than 10 years now, registered with the SEC
‘on February 2, 2000 with registration number A20001627. WIT is presently an Internet
Service Provider, authorized by the NTC under Value Added Service number CCAD-
0058- 2008/VAS/R. The company is managed and owned by Filipinos Its able to
provide satellite services through enfranchised telecom carriers. With none of the
Philippine Telecom Carriers operating a Philippine satellite, WIT aims to fulfill the
VOID.

With the same satellite technology, the company can provide the needed Internet Access
to the remotest elementary schools, barangays and towns of Cagayan Valley and of the
Philippines with the same quality as that of corporate head offices of Multinationals in
Makati. It may likewise serve as an emergeacy communication toot in times of disaster

as well as it dose not rely on terrestrial carriers.
With the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is requested

RANI S. TING

3” Legislative Di Cagayan Province,


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

“$042

House Bill No.

Introduced by Hon. Randolph S. Ting

ee

AN ACT
GRANTING THE WE ARE IT PHILIPPINES INC. A FRANCHISE TO
CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT 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 WE ARE IT PHILIPPINES 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, throughout the Philippines and betwcen the Philippines and other
countries and territories, wire and/or wireless telecommunications systems,
inchading but not limited to mobile, cellular, paging, fiber optics, multi-
channel distribution system (MMDS), local multi-point distribution system
(LMDS), satellite transmit and receive systems, switches, and their value-
added services such as, but not limited to, transmission of voice, data,
facsimile, control signs, audio and video, information services bureau and all
other telecommunications systems technologies as arc at present available
or will be made available through technological advances or innovations in
the future; and/or construct, acquire, leasc and operalc or manage
transmitting and receiving stations, lines, cables or systems as in or are

convenient or essential to efficiently carry out the purpose of this franchise.

SEC. 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 grantecs services and/or the
availability thereof. .

SEC. 3. Authority of the National Telecommunications Commission. —
The grantee shall sccure from the National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC), hereinafter referred to as the Commission, a Certificate of Public
Convenience and Necessity or the appropriate permits and licenses for the
construction, installation and operation of its  (elecommunications
systems/facilities. In issuing the certificate, the Commission shall have the
power to impose such conditions relative to the construction, operation,
maintenance, or service level of the tclecommunications system. The
Commission shall have the authority to regulate the construction and
operation of its telecommunications systems. The grantee shell not use any
frequency in the radio spectrum without having been authorized by the
Commission. Such certificate shall state the areas covercd and date the
grantee shall commence the service. The Commission, however, shall not
unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of any such authority, permits or

licenses.

SEC. 4. Ingress and Egress. - For the purpose of erecting and
maintaining poles or other supports for said wires or other conductors for
the purpose of laying and maintaining underground wires, cables or other
conductors, it shall be lawful for the grantee, its successors or assigns, with
the prior approval of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),
to make excavations or lay conduits in any of the public places, highways,
streets, lanes, alleys, avenues, sidewalks or bridges of said province, cities
and/or municipalilies: Provided, however, That a public place, highway,
street, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk or bridge disturbed, altered or changed
by reason of erection of poles or other supports or the underground laying of
wires, other conductors or conduits, shall be repaired and replaced in
workmanlike manner by said grantee, its successors or assigns, in
accordance with the standards set by DPWH. Should the grantee, its

successors as

igns, after the ten days notice from the said authority, fail,
refuse or neglect to repair or replace any part of public place, road, highway,
street, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk or bridge altered, changed or disturbed
by the said grantee, its successors or assigns, then the DPWH shall have the


right to have the same repaired and placed jn good order and condition at

double expense to be charged against the grantee, its successors or assigns.

SEC. 5. Responsibility to the Public. - The grantee shall conform to the
ethics of honest enterprise and not use its stations/facilities for obscene or
indecent transmission or for dissemination of deliberately false information
or willful misrepresentation, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.

‘The grantee shall provide basic or enhanced tclephone service in any
municipality in the Philippines where it has an approved Certificate of Public
Convenience and Necessity for the establishment, operation and
maintenance of a local exchange service, without discrimination tw any
applicant therefor, in the order of the date of their applications, up to the
limit of the capacity of its local telephone exchange, and should the demand
for the telephone service at any time increase beyond the capacity thereof,
the grantee shall increase the same to meet such demand: Provided, That in
case the total demand to be satisfied by the expansion is less that the
smallest viable local exchange available in the market as determined by the
Commission, the grantee shall not be obliged to furnish such service unless
the applicant for telephone service defrays the actual expenses for the
installation of the telecommunications apparatus necessary for such services
and in such case, the Commission may extend the time within which the

grant shall furnish such service.

‘The grantce shall operate and maintain all ils stations, lines, cables,
systems, and equipment for the transmission and reception of messages,
signals and pulscs in a satisfactory manner at all times, and as far as
economical and practicable, modily, improve or change such stations, lines,
cables, systems, and cquipment ta keep abreast with the advances in science
and technology.

SEC. 6. Rates for Services. - The charges and rates for
telecommunications services of the grantee, except (he rates and charges on
those that may hereafter be declared or considered as nonregulated services,
whether flat rates or measured rates or variation thereof, shall be subject to
the approval of the Commission or its legal successor. The rates to be
charged by the grantee shall be unbundled, separable and distinct among
the services offered and shall be determined in such a manner that regulated
services do not subsidize (he unregulated ones.


SEC. 7. 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, transmitters, facilities or equipment of the
grantee, to temporarily suspend the operation of any station, transmitter,
facility or equipment in the interest of public safety, security and public
welfare, or to authorize the temporary use and operation thercof by any
agency of the government, upon due compensation to the grantee for the use
of said stations, transmitters, facilities or equipment 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 thercof is a privilege conferred upon the grantee by
the State and may be withrawn anytime after due process.

SEC. 8. 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 decmed ipso facta revoked in

the event the grantee fails to comply with any of the following conditions:

(a) Commence operation within three (3) years from the approval of its
operating permit by the National Telecommunications Commission;

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

(c) Commence operations within five (5) years from the effectivity of this
Act.

SEC. 9. 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. Nonacceptancce shall render the franchise void.

SEC. 10. Bond. - The grantee shall file a bond issued in favor of the
National Yelecommunications Commission, which shall determine the
amount, to guarantee the compliance with and fulfillment of the conditions
under which this franchise is granted. If, after five (5) 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.


SEC. 11. Right of Interconnection. - The grantee is hereby authorized to
connect or demand connection of its telecommunications systems to any
other telecommunications systems installed, operate and maintained by any
other duly authorized person or entity in the Philippines for the purpose of
providing extended and improved telecommunications services to the public,
uunder such terms and conditions mutually agreed upon by the parties
concerned and the same shail be subject to the review and modification of

the Commission.

SEC. 12. Gross Receipts. - The grantce, its successors or assigns, shall
keep a separate account of the gross receipts of the business transacted by it
and shail furnish the Commission on Audit and the National Treasury « copy
of such account not later than the thirty-first (31st) day of January of cach
year for the preceding twelve (12) months.

SEC. 13, Books and Accounts. — The books and accounts of the
grantee, its successor or assigns, shall always be open to the inspection of
the Commissioner on Audit or his authorized representatives and it shall be
the duty of the grantee to submit to the COA two (2) copies of the quarterly
reports on the gross receipts, the net profits and the general condition of the
business.

SEC. 14. 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 arising out of accidents or injuries, whether to property or to
persons, caused by the construction or operation of the stations,
transmitters, facililics and equipment of the grantee.

SEC. 15. Nontransferability of Franchise. - The grantee shall not lease,
transfer, grant the usufruct of, sell nor assign (his 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 simultancously 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 validly sold, transferred or


assigned, shall be subject to the same conditions, terms, restrictions and
limitations of this Act. .

SEC. 16. Dispersal of Owmership. — In accordance with the
conatitutional provision lo 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 sccurities exchange in the Philippines within five (5) years from the
commencement of its operations. Noncompliance therewith shall render the
franchise ipso facto revoked.

SEC. 17. Equality Clause. - Any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption,
or immunity granted under existing franchise, or which may hereafter be
granted, shall ipso facto become port of this franchise and shail be accorded
immediately and unconditionally to the herein grantee: 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.

SEC. 18. Reportorial Requirement. — The grantec shall submit an
annual report to the Congress of the P

ppines 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

SEC. 19. Separability Clause. - If any of the sections or provisions of
this Act is held invalid, all other provisions not affectcd thereby shall remain
valid.

SEC. 20. Repeatability 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 (he privileges herein provided for.

SEC. 21. 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