/¥ RECEIVED
2 gett) |

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

6350
HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by
REPRESENTATIVES FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ, PAOLO Z. DUTERTE,
VINCENT J. GARCIA and ISIDRO T. UNGAB

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to grant the City Government of Davao a franchise to construct, install,
establish, operate and maintain radio broadcasting stations in all forms permitted by law
in Davao City and other areas in Davao region.

Section 24, Article Il of the 1987 Constitution provides that "the State recognizes the
vital role of communication and information in nation-building.”

To date, the fastest and most far-reaching medium of communication is still radio and
television. Radio, particularly, remains to be the most reliable medium for distributing,
other information and entertainment especially in the rural areas.

However, the lack of access to timely and reliable information and means of
communication hinders the growth of many rural areas in the country, especially those
in the highlands and other far-flung communities. It is a fact well known to us that there
are still numerous area in the country that do not receive accurate, sufficient and
reliable information on a regular basis.

The City Government of Davao aims to provide the Filipinos with radio programs of
information that are both educational and entertaining. A radio station that can be
accessed in far-flung communities in Davao City and nearby areas will result in rural
development through the dissemination of relevant information on emerging markets
and opportunities, agricultural know-hows on new crops and varieties, land use
techniques, among others. A radio station will also give these underserved communities
a medium to air their concerns on issues affecting their livelihood and everyday lives.

Se >

=
S)


Through this bill, the people of Davao City as well as those underserved farmers,
fisherfolk and indigenous peoples in rural communities and in others areas will be
empowered and overcome their marginalization through timely access to information,
techniques and innovations as well as interaction of knowledge and valuable insights
and experiences.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly requested.

(

EZ PAOLOY.\DUTERTE
1* Distric}, Davao City

a .
Vinern)) ‘rent pe ae
VINCENT J. GARCIA ISIDRO T. UNGAB

24 District, Davao City 39 District, Davao City

RDINAI
1* District, Leyte


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BILL No.__°350

Introduced by
REPRESENTATIVES FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ, PAULO Z. DUTERTE,
VINCENT J. GARCIA and ISIDRO T. UNGAB

AN ACT
GRANTING THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF DAVAO, A FRANCHISE TO
CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN RADIO
BROADCASTING STATIONS IN DAVAO CITY AND OTHER AREAS IN THE DAVAO
REGION

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 CITY
GOVERNMENT OF DAVAO, 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, radio broadcasting stations in the City
of Davao, where frequencies and/or channels are still available for radio broadcasting,
through microwave, satellite or whatever means, including the use of any new
technology in radio systems, with the corresponding technological auxiliaries and
facilities, special broadcast and other program and distribution services and relay
stations,

SEC. 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 assigned wavelengths or frequencies and the quality of
transmission or reception thereon as should maximize rendition of the grantee’s
services and/or the availability thereof.

SEC. 3. Prior Approval of the National Telecommunications Commission. - The
grantee shall secure from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) the
appropriate permits and licenses for the construction and operation of its stations or
facilities and shall not use any frequency in the radio/television spectrum without
authorization from the NTC. The NTC, however, shall not unreasonably withhold or
delay the grant of any such authority.

The grantee shall not dispose or lease its facilities except to entities with radio or
television broadcasting franchise: Provided, That the grantee shall inform and secure
written authorization to proceed from the NTC, and report the transaction to the NTC
within sixty (60) days after its completion: Provided, further, That the NTC shall
determine the corresponding sanction for any violation of this provision.

SEC. 4. Responsibility to the Public. - The grantee shall provide, free of charge,
adequate public service time which is reasonable and sufficient to enable the
government, through the broadcasting stations or facilities of the grantee, to reach the


pertinent populations or portions thereof, on important public issues and relay important
public announcements and warnings concerning public emergencies and calamities, as
necessity, urgency or law may require; provide at all times sound and balanced
programming; promote public participation; assist in the functions of public information
and education; conform to the ethics of honest enterprise; promote audience sensibility
and empowerment including closed captioning; and not use its stations or facilities for
the broadcasting of obscene or indecent language, speech, act, or scene; or for the
dissemination of deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation, to the
detriment of the public interest; or to incite, encourage, or assist in subversive or
treasonable acts.

Public service time referred herein shall be equivalent to a maximum aggregate
of ten (10%) percent of the paid commercials or advertisements which shall be allocated
based on need to the Executive and Legislative branches, the Judiciary, Constitutional
Commissions, and international humanitarian organizations duly recognized by statutes:
Provided, That the NTC shall increase the public service time in case of extreme
emergency or calamity. The NTC shall issue rules and regulations for this purpose, the
effectivity of which shall commence upon applicability with other similarly situated
broadcast network franchise holders.

SEC. 5. Right of the 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 or facilities of the grantee; to
temporarily suspend the operation of any station or facility 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 stations or facilities during the period when these shall be so operated.

SEC. 6. 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.

SEC. 7. Self-regulation by and Undertaking of Grantee. - The grantee shall not
require any previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter to be
broadcast from its stations, but if any such speech, play, act or scene, or other matter
should constitute a violation of the law or infringement of a private right, the grantee
shall be free from any liability, civil or criminal, for such speech, play, act or scene, or
other matter: Provided, That the grantee, during any broadcast, shall cut off the airing of
‘speech, play, act or scene, or other matter being broadcast if the tendency thereof is to
propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition; or the language used therein or the
theme thereof is indecent or immoral: Provided, further, That willful failure to do so shall
Constitute a valid cause for the cancellation of this franchise.

SEC. 8. Warranty in Favor of the National and Local Governments. - The grantee
shall hold the national, provincial, other cities, and municipal governments of the
Philippines free from all claims, liabilities, demands, or actions arising out of accidents
causing injury to persons or damage to properties, during the construction or operation
of the stations of the grantee.

SEC. 9. Commitment to Provide and Promote the Creation of Employment
Opportunities. - The grantee shall create employment opportunities and shall allow on-
the-job trainings in their franchise operation: Provided, That priority shall be accorded to
the residents of the place where their principal office is located: Provided further, That
the grantee shall follow the applicable labor standards and allowance entitlement under
existing labor laws, rules and regulations and similar issuances: Provided, finally, That


the grantee shall follow applicable Civil Service rules and regulations and other similar
issuances.

SEC. 10. 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 the controlling interest of the grantee be transferred, simultaneously or
contemporaneously, to any person, firm, company, corporation, or entity 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 said transaction. Failure to
report to Congress such change of ownership shall render the franchise ipso facto
revoked. 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.

SEC. 11. Reportorial Requirement. — The grantee shall submit an annual report
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
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 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.

SEC. 12. Fine. — Failure of the grantee 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 the delinquent franchise
grantee separate from the reportorial penalties imposed by the NTC and the same shall
be remitted to the Bureau of Treasury.

SEC. 13. Equality Clause. - Any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or
immunity granted under existing franchises, or which may hereafter be granted for radio
and/or television broadcasting, 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 broadcasting franchises concerning territorial coverage, the term, or the
type of service authorized by the franchise.

SEC. 14. Repealability 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.

SEC. 15. Separability Clause. — If any of the sections or provisions of this Act is
held invalid, all other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.

SEC. 16. 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.

SEC. 17. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,