Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ______ 
Introduced by Rep. MARIO VITTORIO “MARVEY” A. MARIÑO 
5th District, Batangas 
AN ACT REQUIRING ALL BROADCAST MEDIA TO PROVIDE 
ADEQUATE 
FREE 
AIRTIME 
FOR 
PUBLIC 
SERVICE 
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND INFOMERCIALS TO ENABLE THE 
GOVERNMENT TO REACH THE POPULATION AND EDUCATE 
THE PEOPLE ON IMPORTANT PUBLIC ISSUES RELATIVE TO 
LAWS, HEALTH, ROAD AND TRAFFIC DISCIPLINE, PUBLIC 
SAFETY, GOOD VALUES, WELFARE RIGHTS AND BENEFITS, 
AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PROGRAMS 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Section 24, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the State 
recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building. 
Information, after all, is power. Mere recognition of its power, however, is not enough. 
One can only witness the true power of information when it has been used and applied 
effectively in nation-building. Instilling discipline, for instance, requires information. 
A disciplined citizenry presupposes an informed society. One cannot be expected to 
obey laws, rules, or code of behavior without knowing and understanding what these 
laws, rules, and code of behavior are. Clearly, the role of communication and 
information is vital in nation-building. 
The government is the agency or instrumentality through which the will of the State 
is formulated, expressed and realized.1 One of the important tasks of the government 
is to act for the State as parens patriae, or guardian of the rights of the people.2 As 
guardian of the rights of the people, it is the duty of the government to see to it that the 
citizens are well-informed of their rights, duties and responsibilities. It is only when 
people are well-informed of these rights, duties, and responsibilities that they realize 
the importance of their role and purpose in society. 
Mass media, on the other hand, is the primary means of communication to reach 
the vast majority of the general public. The vast reach and influence of media can be 
seen especially during elections. Political advertisements have been an effective tool in 
conveying a candidate’s message and in gaining votes and public support. Television, 
1 Cruz, I. (2003). Political Law. 
2 Ibid. 
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for instance, is considered the most cost effective medium of dissemination.3 Even a 
slight increase in television exposure can significantly boost a candidate's popularity, 
name recall and electability.4 If mass media can be used as means to get votes, the more 
it can be used to inform the public of their rights, their duties, and their responsibilities. 
Above all, mass media has the duty to inform people. 
Considering all these, it is vital that we have a law mandating mass media, in 
particular radio and television broadcasting companies to allocate airtime for public 
service announcements and infomercials on laws, social welfare, public safety, 
government processes and other matters of public and national concern to increase 
awareness and inform the public of their rights, duties and responsibilities.  
In truth, radio and television broadcasting companies, which are given franchises, 
do not own the airwaves and frequencies through which they transmit broadcast signals 
and images. They are merely given the temporary privilege of using them. Since a 
franchise is a mere privilege, the exercise of the privilege may reasonably be burdened 
with the performance by the grantee of some form of public service.5 By allocating 
public service announcements and government infomercials, TV and radio networks 
are performing some form of public service for the Filipino people. It is time 
government and mass media work together for the betterment of this country. 
In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly requested. 
MARIO VITTORIO “MARVEY” A. MARIÑO 
3 GMA v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 205357, September 2014 
4 Ibid. 
5 Telecommunications and Broadcast Attorneys of the Philippines, Inv. v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 132922, 
April 1998 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ______ 
Introduced by Rep. MARIO VITTORIO “MARVEY” A. MARIÑO 
5th District, Batangas 
AN ACT 
REQUIRING BROADCAST MEDIA TO ALLOCATE ADEQUATE FREE 
AIRTIME FOR PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS ON VITAL PUBLIC 
ISSUES AND CONCERNS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:  
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Public 
Service Announcement Act.”  
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State recognizes the vital role of 
communication and information in nation-building, and the influence, breadth, 
and accessibility of broadcast media to reach the population on important public 
issues.  Towards this end, the State shall adopt measures to implement an 
integrated approach to enable the government to reach the people and keep 
them well-informed and cognizant of the issues and concerns affecting them. 
SEC. 3. Coverage. – This Act shall apply to all radio and television 
broadcast media. 
For purposes of this Act, broadcast media refers to radio, television and 
cable networks engaged in the business of distributing audio and video content 
to a dispersed audience via any audio, mass, digital or online communication 
media. 
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SEC. 4. Public Service Announcement. – A public service 
announcement is a non-commercial broadcast advertisement for radio and 
television for the purpose of educating the public on a particular topic to 
generate awareness and disseminate information on matters of public interest. 
The public service announcement under this Act shall also include a 
contact number, an email address and a website where the public may obtain 
more in-depth information on the issue covered by the public service 
announcement.  
SEC. 5. Allocation for Public Service Announcements. – To fulfill the 
obligation of broadcast media to render public service under their franchises, 
all broadcast media are required to allocate adequate media time for public 
service announcements, free of charge, of at least two (2) minutes per hour of 
broadcast to enable the government to effectively reach out to the people, 
educate and increase their awareness, and disseminate information on matters 
of public concern, including the following:  
(a) 
Drug abuse and prevention; 
(b) 
Education; 
(c) 
Environmental issues; 
(d) 
Good values; 
(e) 
Health; 
(f) 
Laws; 
(g) 
Public safety; 
(h) 
Road and traffic discipline; 
(i) 
Welfare rights and benefits;  
(j) 
Disaster preparedness; and 


(k) 
Other matters for public awareness.   
SEC. 6. Production of Public Service Announcements. – The 
Philippine Information Agency shall produce public service announcements 
designed to promote and inform the public on the latest issues, 
announcements, warnings, plans and programs of the government to be aired 
by the broadcast media. 
 The public service announcement under this Act shall be non-commercial, 
non-denominational and non-political.  
 Public announcements involving public figures running for elective posts in 
the elections shall be subject to existing election laws and COMELEC 
promulgations on media use. 
SEC. 7. Availment by Government Agencies. – All government 
departments, bureaus, offices, agencies or instrumentalities, including 
government-owned and controlled corporations, except local government units, 
are enjoined to utilize, cooperate and avail of the benefits under this Act.  
SEC. 8. Penalty. – The failure of any covered broadcast media to 
provide the required public service time under this Act shall be a ground for the 
suspension, revocation, or non-renewal of license to operate television and 
radio networks. 
SEC. 9. Monitoring. – The Presidential Communications Operations 
Office, in cooperation with the Philippine Information Agency, and the National 
Telecommunications Commission shall monitor the compliance of covered 
broadcast media with the provisions of this Act.  
They shall submit a quarterly report to the Senate of the Philippines and 
House of Representatives on the compliance of broadcast media and the 


implementation of this Act. 
SEC. 10.  Appropriations. – The amount necessary to implement the 
provisions of this Act shall be charged to the current year’s appropriations of 
the Presidential Communications and Operations Office and National 
Telecommunications Commission.  Thereafter, such sum as may be 
necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the 
annual General Appropriations Act. 
 SEC. 11.  Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety (90) 
days from the approval of this Act, the National Telecommunications 
Commission and the Presidential Communications and Operations Office shall, 
in coordination with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, promulgate 
the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.  
The implementing rules and regulations shall include the determination of time 
standards for public service announcements of government agencies, offices 
or instrumentalities. 
 SEC. 12. Repealing Clause. – All laws, executive orders, presidential 
decrees, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with any provisions 
of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 13. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved