Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Nineteenth Congress
Second Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______
Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE STELLA LUZ A. QUIMBO
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga, once a crucial military facility, was devastated by the
1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Now, this area, comprising a 4,400-hectare main zone and a
27,600-hectare sub-zone, is transforming into a significant economic hub in the Asia-Pacific
region, poised to drive progress throughout the Philippines. As Clark evolves into an
economic powerhouse, the need for robust telecommunications infrastructure has become
more critical.
PLDT Clarktel Inc. has adeptly met these increasing demands, growing alongside Clark's
rise. This bill seeks to renew PLDT Clarktel's franchise, ensuring it continues to support and
enhance the telecom infrastructure that is vital for ongoing regional development
As
mandated
by
the
1987 Constitution, the State recognizes the critical role of
communication in nation-building. PLDT Clarktel Inc. commits to maintaining world-class
telecom facilities in Clark, employing advanced technologies to ensure efficient service
delivery across the zone.
This bill is earnestly recommended for immediate approval.
STELLA LUZ A. QUIMBO
10266
April 25, 2024
4:05 pm


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Nineteenth Congress
Second Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______
Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE STELLA LUZ A. QUIMBO
AN ACT GRANTING PLDT CLARKTEL, INC. A FRANCHISE TO
CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE
PHILIPPINES
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, there is hereby granted to PLDT 
CLARKTEL 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 between the Philippines and other countries 
and territories, wired and/or wireless telecommunications systems including mobile, fixed 
line, paging, trunked radio, fiber optics, multi-channel multipoint distribution system 
(MMDS), local multi-point distribution system (LMDS), satellite transmit and receive 
systems, switches, and value added services such as transmission of voice, data, images, 
facsimile, control signs, audio and video, and all other telecommunications system 
technologies as are present available or will be made available through technological 
advances or innovations in the future; or construct, acquire, lease, and operate or manage 
transmitting and receiving stations, landing stations of submarine cables, lines, systems, or 
other cables as it may consider necessary and convenient to efficiently carry out the purpose 
of this franchise.
10266


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 assigned wavelengths or frequencies and the quality of transmission or reception
thereon as should maximize rendition of the grantee’s services or the availability thereof.
SECTION 3. Authority of the National Telecommunications Commission. – The
grantee shall secure from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) a Certificate
of Public Convenience and Necessity or the appropriate permits and licenses for the
construction, installation and operation of its telecommunications systems or facilities. In
issuing the certificate, the NTC shall have the power to regulate and impose such conditions
relative
to
the
construction,
operation,
maintenance,
or
service
level
of
the
telecommunications systems or facilities. Such certificate shall state the areas covered and the
date the grantee shall commence the service. The grantee 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 such authority, permit or license.
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 the revocation of the franchise for any
violation of the provisions of this franchise.
SECTION 4. Excavation and Restoration Works. – 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 successor or assignee, with the prior approval of the Department of Public
Works and Highways (DPWH) or the local government unit (LGU) concerned, as may be
appropriate, to make excavations or lay conduits in any of the public places, roads, highways,
streets, lanes, alleys, avenues, sidewalks, or bridges of the province, cities, or municipalities:
Provided, however, That a public place, road, 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 successor or assignee, in accordance with the
standards set by DPWH or the LGU concerned. Should the grantee, its successor or assignee,
after the ten (10)-day 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 assignees, then the DPWH or the
LGU concerned shall have the right to have the same repaired and placed in good order and
condition, and charge the grantee, its successor or assignee at double the amount of the costs
and expenses for such repair or replacement.
SECTION. 5. Responsibility to the Public. - The grantee shall conform to the ethics
of honest enterprise and not use its stations or facilities for obscene or indecent transmission,
3


or for dissemination of deliberately false information, or willful misrepresentation, or assist in
subversive or treasonable acts.
The grantee shall operate and maintain all its stations, lines, cables, systems, and
equipment for the transmission and reception of messages, signals, and pulses in a
satisfactory manner at all times, and as far as economical and practicable, modify, improve,
or change such stations, lines, cables, systems, and equipment to keep abreast with the
advances in science and technology.
The grantee shall improve and extend its services in areas not yet served, and in
hazard- and typhoon-prone areas that shall be determined by the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council, or its legal successor, in coordination with the NTC.
The grantee shall also improve and upgrade its equipment, facilities and services, in
order to ensure effective compliance with the objectives of Republic Act No. 10639 or the
“Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act”.
SECTION. 6. Rates for Services. – The charges and rates for telecommunications
services of the grantee, except the 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 NTC 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 the
unregulated ones.
SECTION 7. Right of 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, 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 thereof 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 these shall be so operated.
SECTION 8. 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.
SECTION 9. Right of Interconnection. – The grantee is hereby authorized to
connect
or
demand
connection
of
its
telecommunications
systems
to
other
telecommunications systems installed, operated, 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, under the terms and conditions mutually agreed
upon by the parties concerned. This right shall be subject to the review and modification of
the NTC.
SECTION 10.
Mobile Number Portability. – The grantee shall provide mobile
number portability (MNP) and its implementing mechanism, and shall interconnect, directly
or
indirectly,
with
the
infrastructure,
facilities,
systems,
or
equipment
of
other
telecommunications franchise grantees. It shall not install network features, functions, or
capabilities that will impede the implementation of a nationwide MNP system. The NTC
shall issue rules and regulations for this purpose, the effectivity of which shall commence
upon applicability with other telecommunications franchise grantees.
SECTION 11. 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, accounts, demands, or actions arising out of accidents causing
injury to persons or damage to properties, during the construction or operation of the stations,
transmitters, facilities, or equipment of the grantee.
SECTION 12. 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,
partnership, corporation, or other commercial or legal entity, nor merge with any other
corporation or entity, nor shall transfer the controlling interest of the grantee, simultaneously
or contemporaneously, to any person, firm, company, partnership or corporation organized for
the same purpose 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 transaction. Failure
to report to Congress such change of ownership shall render the franchise ipso facto revoked.
Any corporation to which this franchise may be sold, transferred, or assigned shall be
subject to all conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of this Act.
SECTION 13. 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 common 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 ipso facto revoked.
SECTION 14. 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 their principal office is located: Provided, further, That the grantee shall
5


ensure that at least sixty percent (60%) of its employees are regular employees and in no case
shall the percentage of contractual employees, job orders, casuals, and independent
contractors combined, exceed forty percent (40%) of its total workforce: Provided, finally,
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. In addition, the grantee shall include in its annual report to Congress the number of
its regularized employees and secure a compliance and clearance certificate from the
Department of Labor and Employment and its relevant attached agencies.
SECTION 15. 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 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.
The reportorial compliance certificate issued by Congress shall be required before any
application for permit or certificate is accepted by the NTC.
SECTION 16. Clark Freeport Enterprise Incentives. – The grantee, being registered
as a Clark Freeport Enterprise in the Clark Special Economic Zone, shall be entitled to the
following incentives and privileges: (1) payment of five percent (5%) tax on gross income
earned in lieu of national and local taxes (including Value Added Tax or VAT) and (2) Tax
exemption and duty-free importation of electronic equipment, mechanical and electrical
equipment, telecom materials, and test equipment necessary and directly related to the
grantee’s business activities.
SECTION 17. Fine. – Failure of the grantee to submit the requisite annual report to
Congress shall be penalized with a fine in the amount of one million pesos (P1,000,000.00)
per working day of noncompliance, the effectivity of which shall commence upon
applicability with other telecommunications franchise grantees: Provided, That in the interim,
the grantee shall be liable to pay the 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.
SECTION 18. Equality Clause. - Any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or
immunity granted under existing franchises, or which 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.
SECTION 19. 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 privilege
herein provided for.
SECTION 20. 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
21.
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 22. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,
7