FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
FIRST REGULAR SESSION )
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House Bill No__2906
EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to grant to the National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC) the power of jurisdiction and regulation over all foreign programs through
the granting of Landing Rights to foreign programmers. In particular, the NTC
shall regulate the manner, rates, terms and conditions by which foreign programs
from foreign programmers are made available to cable TV operators for the
benefit of the consuming public. Likewise the NTC shall be vested with the
authority to resolve any and all disputes between the said foreign programmers
and cable TV operators.

The 1987 Constitution stresses the right of the people to information and
education which go hand in hand in attaining the progress and development of
our economy and the preservation and enrichment of our culture. To ensure the
enjoyment of the said rights and the attainment of the stated aims, ownership
requirements have been imposed on relevant industries such as the 100%
Filipino ownership requirement on entities engaged in the mass media industry.

However, due to the advancements in technology and the practices in the
relevant industries, the Filipino ownership requirement on its own has not proven
to be flexible nor broad enough to implement the mandate of the 1987
Constitution. The reality is that a substantial percentage of the mass media
content disseminated throughout the country originates from foreign entities. This
is markedly so with regards to the audio-visual content provided by foreign
programmers to cable TV operators. As the cable TV industry is a mass media
industry that has considerable effect and influence on the consuming public's
mindset, perspective and even behavior, government intervention must be
present. Such government intervention will also allow for the proper collection of
the applicable taxes, thereby aiding in shoring up the government's finances.


There is a need therefore, to regulate the manner, rates, terms and
conditions by which foreign programs from foreign programmers are made
available to cable TV operators for the benefit of the consuming public. Such
need shall be addressed by granting Landing Rights and vesting the NTC with
the power of jurisdiction and regulation over all foreign programs as well as the
authority to resolve any and all disputes between foreign programmers and cable
TV operators, thereby ensuring non-discriminatory access to appropriate and
desirable content under the framework of transparency and fair play, for the full
attainment of the progress and development of our economy and the
preservation and enrichment of our culture.

Hence, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ

MAXIMO B. RODRIGUEZ, JR.


FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
FIRST REGULAR SESSION )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House Bill No. 2906

ANACT
REGULATING FOREIGN PROGRAMMING THROUGH THE GRANTING OF
LANDING RIGHTS, DESIGNATING THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION AS THE APPROPRIATE REGULATORY BODY AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES

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

PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Title — This Act shall be known as the “Landing Rights Act of
2010.”

Section 2. Declaration of Policy — It is the declared policy of the State to
regulate the manner, rates, terms and conditions by which foreign programs from
foreign programmers are made available to cable TV operators for the benefit of
the consuming public.

It is thus the State’s responsibility to guarantee the right to information and
education of the consuming public, through granting of Landing Rights and
vesting the National Telecommunications Commission with the power of
jurisdiction and regulation over all foreign programs as well as the authority to
resolve any and all disputes between foreign programmers and cable TV
operators, thereby ensuring non-discriminatory access to appropriate and
desirable content under the framework of transparency and fair play, for the full
attainment of the progress and development of our economy and the
preservation and enrichment of our culture.


Section 3. Construction and Interpretation - The provisions of this Act

shalll be liberally construed in order to carry out the declared policy of the State.

Section 4, Definition of Terms — for the purposes of this Act, the

following terms shall refer to their respective definitions:

d.

f.

Cable TV Operator ~ refers to a party duly authorized by the Commission
to provide signals directly to the consuming public through the use of the
appropriate technical facilities.

. Commission — refers to the National Telecommunications Commission or

its successor agency as the appropriate regulatory body which shall
implement the provisions of this Act.

. Consuming Public — refers to the consumers or end users of the signal

such as the subscribers of the cable TV operators.

Foreign Channel — refers to a particular foreign program assigned a
name by the foreign programmer from whom it originates and a number by
the cable TV operator which provides it directly to the consuming public.

. Foreign Program — refers to a signal transmitted or distributed into/in the

territory of the Philippines which originate from a foreign programmer.

Foreign Programmer — refers to any party from whom signals originate
and which fall into any of the following categories:

1. is not 100% Filipino owned, or;

2. is incorporated outside of the territory or laws of the Philippines, or;

3. maintains its headquarters outside of the territory of the Philippines,
or,
maintains its primary transmission facilities outside of the
Philippines, or;

5. is a combination of any of the above categories.

B

|. Free-to-Air Signal — refers to a signal which is transmitted or distributed

intofin the territory of the Philippines which may be freely received and
provided for consumption

|. Illegal Foreign Programmer — refers to a foreign programmer without a

Landing Right or one with a Landing Right which has been suspended,
revoked or which has expired and has not been renewed.

Landing Right — refers to the right to transmit infinto the territory of the
Philippines a particular foreign program/foreign channel, granted to the


foreign programmer from whom it originates after the said foreign
programmer's proper application is duly filed with and approved by the
Commission.

j. Signal — refers to electromagnetic waves used for the transmission of
content such as audio or audio-visual media and/or other data and
information.

Section 5. The Commission — The National Telecommunications
Commission is hereby designated as the appropriate regulatory body which shall
implement the provisions of this Act. In particular the Commission shall be vested
with the jurisdiction over and regulation of all foreign programs, including the
power to grant, renew and revoke Landing Rights, as well as the authority to
resolve any and all disputes between foreign programmers and cable TV
operators to ensure non-discriminatory access to appropriate and desirable
content under the framework of transparency and fair play.

Likewise, the Commission shall also be granted other powers and
functions necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, including the
formulation of the appropriate Implementing Rules and Regulations to be issued
no later than six months from the effectivity of this Act.

PART Il. PROCEDURES FOR COMPLIANCE

Section 6. Requisites for the Grant of an Original Landing Right —- An
original Landing Right shall only be granted to a foreign programmer which has
paid the mandated application fee, proven its possession of the specified
requirements and submitted a duly executed application. The application shall be
filed in the form and manner prescribed by the Commission, serve as a legal
manifestation of the foreign programmer that it possesses all the requirements as
specified by the Commission and shall contain among other things the following:

a. The particulars of the foreign programmer — which shall include the
name, address, incorporation details and papers of the foreign
programmer as well as the names, addresses, nationalities and positions
of its primary officers and, where applicable, the name and address of its
local representative for the purposes of notices and legal processes;

b. An undertaking whereby the foreign programmer submits to the
applicable laws of the Philippines and the jurisdiction of the
Commission — which shall bind the foreign programmer to comply with
the laws of the Philippines, including the applicable tax laws, and the
jurisdiction and regulation of the Commission to grant, renew and revoke
Landing Rights as well as its authority to resolve any and all disputes


between foreign programmers and cable TV operators;

c. Respective technical and financial profiles of the foreign
programmer — which shall allow the Commission to determine whether or
not the foreign programmer has the capability to provide a continuous,
wide-ranging and high-quality signal for the whole duration of the
effectivity of its Landing Right;

d. Duly certified copies of contracts with cable TV operators — which
shall allow the Commission to monitor and prevent the circumvention of
the said contracts and the provisions of this Act, and;

e. Proposed uniform rates to be offered — which shall be adjusted,
finalized and approved by the Commission on the basis of the data and
information submitted by the foreign programmer and the cable TV
operators and considerations of reasonableness, transparency and fair

play.

Section 7. Proof of Payment of Taxes — As an annual requirement for
the enjoyment of the Landing Right to be granted, the foreign programmer
concerned shall be required to submit proof of payment of any and all applicable
taxes in the form and manner prescribed by the Commission.

Section 8. Procedure for the Grant of an Original Landing Right — The
procedure for the grant of an original Landing Right shall be initiated with the
filing by a foreign programmer of a duly executed application and the payment of
the mandated fee. Upon such initiation, the Commission shall proceed to
determine the completeness and sufficiency of the application form, mandated
fee and the other requirements.

The Commission may schedule hearings and/or the submission of proofs
to substantiate the claims of the applicant foreign programmer, as it deems
necessary, and shall notify the said applicant of any and all flaws and problems in
its application. Thereafter, the Commission shall issue a written order granting or
not granting the application, with the factual and legal antecedents, within six
months of the filing of the same. An original Landing Right thus granted shall
have an effectivity period of five years.

Section 9. Requisites and Procedure for the Renewal of a Landing
Right — The requisites and procedure for the renewal of a Landing Right shall be
analogous to those for the grant of an original Landing Right, except for the
following:


a. That the requisites should be completed and submitted at least six months
before the expiration of the pre-existing Landing Right;

b. That the foreign programmer shall also submit proof of payment of any
and all applicable taxes paid during the last three years;

c. That the fee for the renewal of the pre-existing Landing Right shall be an
amount equivalent to eighty percent (80%) of the fee charged for the grant
of the original Landing Right;

d. That the new Landing Right shall only be effective for a period of three
years, and;

e. That in case a foreign programmer's Landing Right was not renewed or
was revoked, the former would have to follow the requisites and procedure
for the grant of an original Landing right.

Section 10. Exclusivity of a Landing Right — A Landing Right granted
under the provisions of this Act is exclusive to a particular foreign program or
foreign channel originating from a foreign programmer. It may not be sold, leased
out or otherwise reassigned to a different foreign program or foreign channel,
whether such originate from the same or a different foreign programmer.

Section 11. Time Period for Compliance — Foreign programmers have one
year from the effectivity of this Act to comply with the procedures and
requirements for the grant of Landing Rights.

PART Ill. EFFECTS AND REMEDIES IN CASE OF NONCOMPLIANCE

Section 12. Effects of Failure to Comply — Failure to comply with the
provisions of this Act shall produce the following effects:

a. As to the status of the foreign programmer — the foreign programmer at
fault shall be deemed to be an illegal foreign programmer and as such its
rights and privileges shall be immediately suspended;

b. As to the status of the foreign programmer's contract with a cable TV
operator — the contract with a cable TV operator of a foreign programmer
at fault shall be deemed to be immediately terminated;

¢. As to the status of the foreign programs originating from the foreign


programmer — the foreign programs originating from the foreign
programmer at fault shall immediately be deemed to be free-to-air signals,
and;

d. As to the application of other fines and penalties — the foreign
programmer at fault shall also be liable for other fines and penalties as
provided in the following sections.

Section 13. Grounds for the Revocation of Landing Rights — The
following shall be the grounds for the revocation of Landing Rights:

a. Continued or repeated violations — violations of this Act which last for
more than three months as well as three violations of this Act within the
span of one year are grounds for the revocation of landing rights;

b. Ignoring the commission’s jurisdiction and/or authority — refusal or
failure to pay the applicable fees or fines as well as the refusal or failure to
follow the orders of the Commission are grounds for the revocation of
landing rights;

c. Employing schemes and machinations for circumvention — the
employment of schemes and machinations for the circumvention of the
provisions of this Act, such as the direct delivery of a foreign program to
the consuming public by the foreign programmer with or without a Landing
Right, shall be a ground for the revocation of landing rights.

Section 14. Applicable Fines and Other Penalties — A party which fails
to comply with or violates any provision of this Act shall be liable to pay a fine
which shall not be less than five thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) but in no case shall
be more than one hundred thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) depending on the
severity of the act or omission involved.

Provided, that in the case of a foreign programmer which either ignores
the Commission's jurisdiction and/or authority or employs schemes and
machinations for circumvention, the applicable fine shall not be less than one
hundred thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) but in no case shall be more than five
hundred thousand Pesos (P500,000.00), accordingly.

Provided further, that in the case of a party which wilfully aids a foreign
programmer either in ignoring the Commission's jurisdiction and/or authority or in
employing schemes and machinations for circumvention, the applicable fine shall
not be less than ten thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) but in no case shall be more
than two hundred thousand Pesos (P200,000.00), accordingly


Section 15. Remedies in Case of Failure to Comply or of a Dispute —
The party which incurs an injury as a result of the failure to comply or violation of
the provisions of this Act, shali within 30 days of the discovery of the supposed
failure or violation, file a formal request for investigation with the Commission in
the form and manner prescribed by the latter.

In case of a dispute between foreign programmers and cable TV
operators, either of the parties may file a formal request for investigation with the
Commission also in the form and manner prescribed by the latter.

PART IV. FINAL PROVISIONS

Section 16. Appropriations - The amount necessary for the
implementation of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of
the year following its enactment into law and thereafter.

Section 17. Transitory Provision - Any revocation, modification or
novation of pre-existing valid contracts as well as any new contracts and acts
made after the effectivity of this Act shall be subject to the provisions of this new
body of laws.

Section 18. Separability Clause - If any provision of this Act is held
invalid, all other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.

Section 19. Repealing Clause - All laws, Presidential Decrees, Executive
Orders, rules and regulations or any other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent
with this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 20. Effectivity - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from
the date of its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,