Wuudin FR PRE
ECEIVED
Republic of the Philippines 48 AUG 2016
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE! ATE:

Quezon City, Metro Manila

a
Seventeenth Congress i

First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO, 8118

Introduced by Representative Emmanuel F. Madrona

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Telecommunications is an essential infrastructure just like any public
utility, ie. water, electricity, transportation, broadcasting and the like, that
addresses the basic needs of peoples, institutions, and communities. Its
pervasiveness and efficiency have a direct bearing on the level of development
for many sectors of society. Studies on information and communication
technology have shown a direct correlation between accessibility to
telecommunications and total and inclusive development. Indeed,
telecommunications not only enhances information dissemination but
completes the crucial cycle of communication very much needed by our
countrymen given the fact that the Philippines is an archipelago.

The clamor for a Philippine telecommunications industry that provides
efficient, dependable, and affordable communication and information services
is very clear. Institutions and individual end-users have expressed their
collective desire, nay, demand for the industry to keep in complimentary stride
with them and make significant contributions to nation building. Statistics
would show that industry demand drivers have been growing steadily while
there is a lag on the supply side.

Within the aforementioned context, Streamtech Systems Technologies,
Ine. seeks to do its share to improve the telecommunication industry's capacity
to promote the common good and serve the general public. With its financial
and technical resources, the company seeks to establish an international
gateway facility, provide broadband service, and set up public data networks.

This bill seeks to grant Streamtech Systems Technologies, Inc. a franchise

to construct, install, establish, operate, and maintain telecommunications
systems in the Philippines for commercial purposes and in the public interest

In view of the foregoing, approval of this measure is most respectfully
sought.

EMMANUEL F. MADRONA

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ae

ESENT ANIVES

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REQISTR ATION UNIT
BILLS AND INOL X SERVICE


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

Seventeenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 31 18

Introduced by Representative Emmanuel F. Madrona

AN ACT GRANTING THE STREAMTECH SYSTEMS
TECHNOLOGIES, 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 Philippine Constitution and applicable laws, rules and regulations, there
is hereby granted to Streamtech Systems Technologies, Inc., hereunder
referred to as the grantee, its successors or assignees, a franchise to construct,
install, establish, operate and maintain for commercial purposes and in the
public interest, an international gateway facility to serve and connect the
Philippines to other countries and territories, wire and/or wireless
telecommunications systems, international and national broadband system,
mobile and cellular, including but not be limited to paging, fiber optics,
multichannel multipoint distribution systems, switches and their value-added
services such as, transmission of voice, data, facsimile, control signs, audio
and video, information services and all other value-added technologies as are
available or will be made available through technological advances or
innovations in the future; and/or construct, acquire, lease and operate or
manage transmitting and receiving stations, lines, cables, or systems as is or
are convenient or essential 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 privilege to use its selected
wavelengths or frequencies and the quality of transmission or reception
thereon as should maximize rendition of the grantee’s services and/or
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/facilities. In issuing the certificate, the NTC shall
have the power to impose such conditions relative to the construction,
operation, maintenance, or service level of the telecommunications system.


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The NTC shall have the authority to regulate the construction and operation of
its telecommunications systems, The grantee shall not use any frequency in the
radio spectrum without authorization from the NTC. Such certificate shall state
the areas covered and date the grantee shall commence the service. The NTC,
however, shall not unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of any such
authority, permits, or licenses.

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 successors or
assignees, 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 said
province, cities and/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 (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 at double expense to
be charged against the grantee, its successors or assignees.

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 wilful misrepresentation, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.

‘The grantee shall provide basic or enhanced telephone service in any city
and/or municipality in the Philippine where it has an approved Certificate of
Public Convenience and Necessity for the establishment, operation, and
maintenance of a local exchange service, without discrimination to 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 than the smallest viable local
exchange available in the market as determined by the NTC, 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
NTC may extend the time within which the grantee shall furnish such service.

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.


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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, - 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 the
stations, transmitters, facilities, or equipment during the period when these
shall be so operated.

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 anytime after due process.

SECTION 8, Term of Franchise. - This franchise shall be in effect for a
period of twenty-five (25) years from the date of 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 one (1) year from the approval of its
operating permit by the NTC;

(b) Commence operations within three (3) years from the effectivity of
this Act; and

(c) Operate continuously for two (2) years.

SECTION 9. Acceptance and Compliance. - Acceptance of this franchise
shall be given in writing 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, within sixty (60) days from the
effectivity of this Act. Upon giving such acceptance, the grantee shall exercise
the privileges granted under this Act. Non-acceptance shall render the
franchise void.

SECTION 10. Bond. - The grantee shall file a bond with the NTC in the
amount that it shall determine to guarantee compliance with and fulfilment of
the conditions under which this franchise is granted. If, after three (3) years
from the date of the approval of its permit by the NTC, the grantee shall have
fulfilled the conditions, the bond shall be cancelled by the NTC. Otherwise, the
bond shall be forfeited in favour of the government and the franchise ipso facto
revoked

SECTION 11, 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


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providing extended and improved telecommunications services to the public,
under such terms and conditions mutually agreed upon by the parties
concerned and the same shall be subject to the review and modification of the
NTC.

SECTION 12. 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, 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, facilities,
and equipment of the grantee

SECTION 13. 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 transfer the controlling,
interest of the grantee, whether as a whole or in part, and whether
simultaneously or contemporaneously, to any such person, firm, company,
corporation, or entity without the prior approval of the Congress of the
Philippines; Provided, That 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 said
transaction: Provided further, That failure to report to Congress such change of
‘ownership shall render the franchise ipso facto revoked: Provided finally, That
any person or entity to which this franchise is sold, transferred or assigned
shall be subject to the same conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of
this Act.

SECTION 14, - 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 per centum (30%) or a
higher percentage that may hereafter be provided by law of its outstanding
capital stock in any securities and exchange in the Philippines within five (5)
years from the commencement of its operations: Provided, That in the cases
where public offer of shares is not applicable, establishment of cooperatives
operating public utilities must be implemented. Noncompliance therewith shall
render the franchise ipso facto revoked

SECTION 15. Reportorial Requirement. - The grantee shall submit an
annual report to the Congress of the Philippines, through the Committee on
Public Services of the Senate, on its compliance with the terms and conditions
of the franchise and on its operations on or before April 30 of every year
during the term of its franchise. The reportorial compliance certificate issued
by Congress shall be required before any application for permit or certificate is
accepted by the NTC.

SECTION 16. Penalty Clause. - Failure to submit the requisite annual
report to Congress shall be penalized by a fine of five hundred pesos (P500.00)
per working day of noncompliance. The fine shall be collected by the NTC
from said delinquent franchise grantee separate from the reportorial penalties
imposed by the NTC.


SECTION 17. Equality Clause. - Any advantage, favour, privilege,
exemption, or immunity granted under other existing franchises, or which may
hereafter be granted, 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, That the foregoing shall
neither apply to nor affect the 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 18. 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 19. Repealability Clause and Non Exclusivity 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 privileges herein provided for.

SECTION 20. Effectivity. ~ This act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,