Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

COMMITTEE REPORTNO. _746
Submitted by the Committee on Legislative Franchises on MAY 2 2 2410
Re: House BillNo. ___@ 74
Recommending its approval in substitution of House Bill No. 6347

Sponsors: Representatives Franz E. Alvarez and Seth Frederick P. Jalosjos

MR. SPEAKER:

The Committee on Legislative Franchises to which was referred House Bill
No. 4118, authored by Rep. Seth Frederick P. Jalosjos, entitled:

“AN ACT RENEWING THE FRANCHISE TO FIRST LOVE
BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC., UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8100
ENTITLED “AN ACT GRANTING THE FIRST LOVE BROADCASTING
NETWORK, INC., A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, ESTABLISH, OPERATE
AND MAINTAIN COMMERCIAL FM AND AM RADIO STATIONS AND
TELEVISION STATIONS IN THE VISAYAS AND MINDANAO" FOR
ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS FROM THE EFFECTIVITY OF THIS
ACT”

has considered the same and recommends that the attached House Bill No.
_, entitled:

“AN ACT RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS
THE FRANCHISE GRANTED TO FIRST LOVE BROADCASTING
NETWORK, INC. UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8100, ENTITLED “AN ACT
GRANTING THE FIRST LOVE BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC., A
FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN
COMMERCIAL FM AND AM STATIONS AND TELEVISION STATIONS IN
THE VISAYAS AND MINDANAO”


be approved in substitution of House Bill No. 4118 with Reps. Seth Frederick P.
Jalosjos and Franz E. Alvarez, as authors thereof.

Committee on Legislative Franchises

THE HONORABLE SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
QUEZON CITY


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
‘Second Regular Session

oo
HOUSE BILL No. _7754

Introduced by REPS. SETH FREDERICK P. JALOSJOS and FRANZ E. ALVAREZ

AN ACT
RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS THE FRANCHISE
GRANTED TO FIRST LOVE BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC. UNDER
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8100, ENTITLED “AN ACT GRANTING THE FIRST LOVE
BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC., A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT,
ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN COMMERCIAL FM AND AM RADIO
STATIONS AND TELEVISION STATIONS IN THE VISAYAS AND MINDANAO”

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, the franchise granted to
First Love Broadcasting Network, Inc. hereunder referred to as the grantee, its
successor or assignee, under Republic Act No. 8100 to construct, establish, maintain
and operate in the public interest and for commercial purposes, radio and/or
television broadcasting stations, including digital television system, through
microwave, satellite, terrestrial or whatever means, including the use of any new
technologies in television and radio systems, with the corresponding technological
auxiliaries and facilities, special broadcast and other program and distribution
services and relay stations in the Visayas and Mindanao, is hereby renewed for
another twenty-five (25) years.

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 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.

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 its broadcasting stations or facilities of the grantee, to reach the
pertinent population/s 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 through, but not limited to, 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 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 percent (10%) of the paid commercials or advertisements which
shall be allocated based on need to the executive, legislative, 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. Compliance with Labor Standards. — The grantee, its successor or
assignee shall comply with the applicable labor standards under existing labor laws,
rules and regulations and such other issuances as may be promulgated by the
Department of Labor and Employment, taking into consideration the nature and
peculiarities of the broadcast industry

SEC. 6. 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 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 said stations or facilities during the period when these shall be
so operated.

SEC. 7. 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 jpso facto revoked in the event the
grantee fails to operate continuously for two (2) years.


SEC. 8. 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 from its stations: Provided, That the grantee,
during any broadcast and/or telecast shall cut off from the air the speech, play, act or
scene, or other matter being broadcast and/or telecast 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 revocation and cancellation of this franchise.

SEC. 9. 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, 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. 10. Sale, Lease, Transfer, 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, 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 such transfer, sale or issuance is in
accordance with any applicable constitutional limitation: 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

SEC. 11. 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 cent (30%) or a higher percentage that may
hereafter be provided by law of its outstanding capital stock in any securities
exchange in the Philippines within five (5) years from the commencement of its
operations: Provided, That in cases where public offer of shares is not applicable,
the grantee shall apply other methods of encouraging public participation by citizens
and corporations operating public utilities as allowed by law. Noncompliance
therewith shall render the franchise jpso facto revoked.

SEC. 12. 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 General
Information Sheet officially submitted to SEC (if applicable); certification of the NTC


36

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. 13. 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 National Treasury.

SEC. 14. 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. 15. Repealability and Nonexclusivity 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. 16. Separability Clause. — If any section or provision of this Act is held
invalid, all other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid

SEC. 17. Repealing Clause. - All other laws, orders, issuances, rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended
or modified accordingly.

SEC. 18. Effectivity. -This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
Publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,


FACT SHEET

House Bill No. 7704
In substitution of House Bill No. 4118
(As approved on May 16, 2018)

AN ACT RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS
THE FRANCHISE GRANTED TO FIRST LOVE BROADCASTING
NETWORK, INC. UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8100, ENTITLED “AN ACT
GRANTING THE FIRST LOVE BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC., A
FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN
COMMERCIAL FM AND AM RADIO STATIONS AND TELEVISION
STATIONS IN THE VISAYAS AND MINDANAO”

Introduced by: REP. SETH FREDERICK P. JALOSJOS

Committee Referral: LEGISLATIVE FRANCHISES
Committee Chairperson: HON. FRANZ E. ALVAREZ

OBJECTIVE:

* To allow the First Love Broadcasting Network, Inc. to continue its effective
Public service through commercial FM and AM radio and television
broadcasting in Visayas and Mindanao.

KEY PROVISIONS:

+ Extends another franchise term of twenty-five (25) years to the First Love
Broadcasting Network, Inc.;

* Requires the grantee to inform NTC and secure its written authorization to
proceed, and report the same within 60 days from the completion of such
transaction;

+ Requires the grantee to provide the government adequate public service
time, with a maximum aggregate of ten percent (10%), to enable it to
inform the population on important public issues and assist in the
performance of the functions of public information and education;

* Prohibits the grantee to use its stations for the broadcasting of obscene
and indecent language, speech, act or scene or for the dissemination of
deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation;

+ Reserves the right of the President of the Philippines 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, in times of war,


rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster or disturbance of
peace and order;

Directs the grantee to hold the national, provincial, city, 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
property;

Prohibits the grantee from leasing, transferring, selling nor assigning the
franchise or the controlling interest thereof without the prior approval of the
Congress of the Philippines;

Requires the grantee to submit an annual report to the Congress of the
Philippines on its compliance with the terms and conditions of the
franchise and its operation on or before April 30 of the succeeding year,
failure of which shall have a fine of five hundred pesos per working day of
non-compliance; and

Provides an equality clause, which aims to grant existing and potential
franchise grantees equal privileges.

RELATED LAW:

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8100 - AN ACT GRANTING THE FIRST LOVE
BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC., A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT,
ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN COMMERCIAL FM AND AM
STATIONS AND TELEVISION STATIONS IN THE VISAYAS AND
MINDANAO: