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K REPRISE:

RECEIVER

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

6052-

HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by
BAYAN MUNA Representatives CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
FERDINAND R. GAITE and EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
ACT TEACHERS Party-List Representative FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Representative ARLENE D. BROSAS
and KABATAAN Party-List Representative SARAH JANE I. ELAGO

AN ACT RENEWING THE FRANCHISE GRANTED TO ABS-CBN
CORPORATION (FORMERLY ABS-CBN BROADCASTING CORPORATION)
UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7966 OR “AN ACT GRANTING ABS-CBN
BROADCASTING CORPORATION A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT; INSTALL,
ESTABLISH, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN BROADCASTING STATIONS IN THE
PHILIPPINES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” FOR TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS
FROM THE EFFECTIVITY OF THIS ACT

EXPLANATORY NOTE

One of the largest and oldest networks in the Philippines is on the verge of a shutdown pending
legislative approval of the renewal of its congressional franchise, which expires in March 30,
2020.

all

‘The employees, talents, media workers, actors and actresses, and, the millions of teleview
over the country have expressed their concern on the imminent shutdown of ABS-CBN
Broadcasting Network, if it cannot secure a renewal of its franchise. No doubt that there is broad
support for the ABS-CBN franchise renewal among the Filipino people. That is clear and
apparent. For instance, the online petition initiated by the National Union of Journalists in the
Philippines (NUJP) that calls for the House of Representatives to grant ABS-CBN a franchise
renewal readily gathered, in just three (3) days, more than 120,000 signatures,

‘The non-renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise will cost the jobs of some 6,730 regular employ.
900 non-regular workers and more than 3,325 talents, basing on the number of employees
under the media corporation’s report to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
Philippine Stock Exchange.

Yet, an even bigger ripple of the ABS-CBN shutdown cdom of the press, in

particular, and to democracy in the country, in general.

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly expressed his personal ire on the network and vowed to
vigorously block the renewal of its franchise. He even openly advised the owners of the network
to just sell it, raising legitimate concerns over the possible takeover of the network by



SocwrdsHauns

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administration allies. ‘That the president is personally piqued is certainly a miniscule reason in the
face of the thousands that will be out of jobs if the network will be out of the airwaves and its
dire implications on press freedom, particularly on those critical of the present administration.

The shutdown of ABS-CBN due to a mere personal grudge by the Chief Executive is evocative
of the forced shutdown of radio and TV stations during the Marcos martial rule in 1972. In fact,
ABS-CBN was padlocked, and eventually sequestered and became one of the TV stations
controlled by Marcos and his cronies during that dreaded era.

‘The refusal to grant franchise to ABS-CBN could be construed as an act against the
Constitutionally-protected freedoms, especially of the right to a free and independent press.
Section 4, Article III of the 1987 Constitution expressly stated: “No law shall be passed abridging
the freedom of speech, of expression, ot of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”

We are in a time that democracy is walking at the edge of a knife as authoritarianism rises once
again. In times like this, democratic institutions such as the press are embattled. We are
challenged to defy the rising tyranny and stand for freedom and democracy.

In view of the foregoing, urgent passage of this bill is sought.

Approved,
REP. CARLOS I 1 Foitlee
Bayan Muna Partylist
micas
RI ‘ERDINAND R. GAITE REP. EUFE! C. CULLAMAT

Bayan Muna Partylist Bayan Muna Partylist

TRO. REP. ARLENE D. BROSAS
Partylist GABRIELA Women’s Party

REP. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
6052
HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by
BAYAN MUNA Representatives CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
FERDINAND R. GAITE and EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
ACT TEACHERS Party-List Representative FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Representative ARLENE D. BROSAS
and KABATAAN Party-List Representative SARAH JANE I. ELAGO

AN ACT RENEWING THE FRANCHISE GRANTED TO ABS-CBN
CORPORATION (FORMERLY ABS-CBN BROADCASTING CORPORATION)
UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7966 OR “AN ACT GRANTING ABS-CBN.
BROADCASTING CORPORATION A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT; INSTALL,
ESTABLISH, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN BROADCASTING STATIONS IN THE
PHILIPPINES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” FOR TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEARS
FROM THE EFFECTIVITY OF THIS ACT

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

SECTION 1. Nature and Scope of Franchise. - Subject to the provisions of the 1987
Constitution and applicable laws, rules, and regulation, the ABS-CBN Corporation, hereunder
referred to as the grantee, its successors or assigns, is hereby granted a franchise to construct,
operate, and maintain, for commercial purposes and in the public interest, television and radio
ting stations in and throughout the Philippines, through microwave, satellite, digital, or,
+r means including the use of any new technologies in television and radio systems, with
the corresponding technological auxiliaries or facilities, special broadcast and other broadcast
distribution services and relay stations.

SECTION 2. Manner of Operation of Stations or Facilities. - The existing and future
stations or facilities of the grantee shall be constructed in a manner as will at most result only in
the minimum interference on the wavelengths or frequencies and the quality of transmission or
reception thereon as should maximize rendition or the grantee’s services and/or the availability
thereof.

SECTION 3. Prior Approval of the National Telecommunications Commission. The
grantee shall secure from the National T Commission (NTO), the appropriate
permits and licenses for the operation of ilties and shall not use any frequency
in the radio /television spectrum without authorization from the NC. The NTC, however, shall
not unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of such authority.

SECTION 4. Responsibility to the Public. - The grantee shall provide adequate public service
time to enable the government, through the said broadcasting stations or facilities, to reach the
population on important public issues; provide at all times sound and balanced programming;

st in the functions of public information and education; conform to the ethics of honest
enterprise; and not use its stations and facilities for the dissemination of deliberately false



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information or willful misrepresentation, to the detriment of the public interest, or to incite,
encourage or assist in treasonable acts.

SECTION 5. 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 war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace
and order; to temporarily take over and operate the stations and 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 they 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 any time after due
process.

SECTION 6. Term of Franchise. -‘the franchise shall be IN EFFECT FOR A PERIOD of
twenty-five (25) years from the date of EFFECTIVITY of this Act. In the event the grantee
fails to operate continuously for two (2) years, the Franchise, shall be deemed ipso facto revoked.

SECTION 7. Acceptance and Compliance. - This Franchise shall become effective upon
acceptance GIVEN in writing to Congress within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act.
Upon giving such acceptance, the grantee shall exercise the privileges granted under this Act.

SECTION 8. Tax Provision. - The grantee, its successors or assigns, shall be liable to pay the
same taxes on their real estate, buildings and personal property, exclusive of this franchise, as,
other persons or corporations are now or hereafter may be required by law to pay. In addition,
thereto, the grantee, its successors or assigns, shall pay a franchise tax equivalent to three (3%) of
all gross receipts of the radio/television business transacted under this franchise by the grantee,
its successors or assigns, and the said percentage shall be in lieu of all taxes on this franchise or
earnings thereof. Provided, That the grantee, its successors or assigns, shall continue to be liable
for income taxes payable under Title II of the National Internal Revenue Code pursuant to
Section 2 of Executive Order No. 72 unless the latter enactment is amended or repealed, in
which case the amendment or repeal shall be applicable thereto.

“The grantee shall file the return with and may the tax due thereon to the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue or his duly authorized representatives in accordance
with the National Internal Revenue Code, and the return shall be subject to audit by the
Bureau of Internal Revenue.”

SECTION 9. Self-regulation by Undertaking of Grantee. -'The grantee shall not require any
previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter to be broadcast and/or
telecast from its stations.

SECTION 10. Warranty in Favor of National and Local Governments. - The grantee shall
hold the national, provincial, and municipal governments of the Philippines harmless from all
claims, accounts, demands, oF actions arising out of accidents or injuries, whether to property or
to persons, caused by the construction or operation of the stations of the grantee.

SECTION 11. Sale, Lease, Transfer, Usufruct, etc. -'The grantee shall not lease, transfer,
grant the usufruct of, sell nor assign this franchise or the rights and privileges acquired
thereunder to any person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity,
without the prior approval of the Congress of the Philippines. Any person or entity to which this,
franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned shall be subject to all the same conditions, terms, and



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limitation of this Act.

SECTION 12. Separability Clause. - If any of the sections or provisions of this Act is held
invalid, all the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.

SECTION 14. Repeatability and Nonexclusivity Clauses. - 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 15. Effectivity Clause. -This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of
its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,