ee Rac

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
QUEZON CITY

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS:
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 9071

Introduced by REP. ENRICO A. PINEDA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 24, Article II of the 1987 Constitution recognizes the vital role of
communication and information in nation-building.

The Philippines being an archipelago, telecommunication services provide a
unifying and modernizing force. It is therefore in the best interest of the State to ensure
the provision of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and to
promote its development, especially now that the world is in the digital age.

One way the government can do so is by allowing the entry and participation of
various service providers into the telecommunications industry, thereby promoting
competition and innovation for the benefit of the public.

This bill seeks to grant Linkserve Telecommunications Network, Inc., or LISTEN,
a franchise to construct, install, establish, maintain, lease and operate wire and/or
wireless telecommunications systems throughout the Philippines.

LISTEN is a domestic telecommunications system and solutions provider that
aims to provide responsive, adaptive, reliable and cost-effective information and
communication services to the public. With a legislative franchise, it will be able to fully
enter the telecommunications industry and provide their services to different sectors and
clientele, such as government agencies, private corporations, micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs), educational institutions, and residences.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of the bill is earnes

ENRIGO A. PINEDA
a


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
QUEZON CITY

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 9071 _

Introduced by REP. ENRICO A. PINEDA

AN ACT GRANTING LINKSERVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK, INC. A.
FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, ESTABLISH, MAINTAIN, LEASE AND
OPERATE WIRE AND/OR WIRELESS 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
Linkserve Telecommunications Network, Inc., hereunder referred to as the grantee, its
successor or assignees, a franchise to construct, install, establish, maintain, lease and
operate, for commercial purposes and in the public interest, throughout the Philippines
and between the Philippines and other countries and territories, wired or wireless
telecommunications systems including mobile, cellular, fixed line, 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 information services, and all other telecommunications systems 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.


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 shalll 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 purposes of erecting
and maintaining poles or other supports for wires or other conductors and for laying and
maintaining of underground wires, cables, or other conductors, it shall be lawful for the
grantee, its successors or assignees without 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 the grantee, its successors or
assignees, in accordance with the standards set by the DPWH or the LGU concerned.
Should the grantee, its successors or assignees, after the ten-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 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 successors or assignees 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, 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 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
variations 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 underregulated 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,
transmitters, facilities, or equipment of the grantee 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 said
stations, transmitters, facilities, or equipment during the period when they 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 date of the effectivity of this Act, unless sooner 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 three (3) years from the approval of its
operating permit by the NTC;

(b) commence operations within five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act;
and,

(© operate continuously for two (2) years.

SECTION 9. Renewal or Extension of Franchise. - The grantee shall apply for the
renewal or extension of its franchise three (3) years before its expiration which shall be
reckoned from fifteen (15) days after the publication of the franchise in the Official Gazette

or in a newspaper of general circulation.

SECTION 10. 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 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, 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,
simultaneously or contemporaneously, to any person, firm, company, corporation, or
entity without the prior approval of Congress. The grantee shall inform Congress,
through the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Office of the
Senate President, of any sale, lease, transfer, grant of usufruct, or assignment of franchise
or the rights and privileges acquired thereunder, or of the merger of transfer of the
controlling interest of the grantee, within sixty (60) days after the completion of the said
transaction. Failure to report to Congress such change of ownership shall render the
franchise ipso facto revoked. Any person or entity to which the franchise is sold,
transferred, or assigned shall be subject to the same 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 its franchises operations: Provided, That priority shall be accorded to the
residents of the place where the principal office of the grantee is located: Provided further,
That the grantee shall ensure that at least sixty percent (60%) of its employees are regular
employees and in no case shall the percentage of contractual, job order, or casual
employees, 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
(GEC) annually. In addition, the grantee shall include in its annual report to Congress the
number of trainees and workers whose employment status are made regular, and append
the appropriate certificate from the Department of Labor and Employment attesting that
it has complied with the employment requirement under this Section.

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 commencement of activities,
development, operation, and 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. 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) for each 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 to the NTC. The fine shall be collected
separately from the reportorial penalties imposed by the NTC, and it shall be remitted to
the Bureau of Treasury.

SECTION 17. Equality Clause, - Any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or
immunity granted under existing franchises, or which may hereafter be granted for
telecommunications, 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, however, that the foregoing shall neither apply to nor affect provisions
of telecommunications franchises concerning territory covered by the franchise, or the
type of service authorized by the franchise.

SECTION 18. Repealability and Nonexclusivity Clause. ~ This franchise shall be
subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by Congress when the public interest so
requires and shall not be interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privilege herein
provided for.

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

SECTION 20. Repealing Clause. - Any law, 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 21. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,