Question & AnswerQ&A (Commonwealth Act No. 407)
Commonwealth Act No. 407 amends Section One of Act No. 3436 to grant the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company the franchise to install, operate, and maintain telephone systems throughout specified routes in the Philippine Islands for 50 years from the Act's approval.
The franchise covers the routes: Manila-Baguio; Manila-Iloilo-Negros-Cebu; Manila-Albay; Manila-Camarines Sur; Luzon-Mindanao; and Manila-Tayabas, including all provinces and islands traversed.
The grantee is authorized to construct, maintain, and operate telephone systems, carry on electrical transmission of messages, pictures, and signals, construct lines and cables, and erect poles and conduits across public roads, government right-of-ways, and other public places in the provinces and municipalities covered by the franchise.
All poles, cables, and conduits must be located in places designated by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications and poles must be erected in a workmanlike manner to the satisfaction of this official.
Upon reasonable notice, the Secretary may require the grantee to relocate poles or remove or raise wires to permit the passage of buildings or structures, with half the actual cost paid by the person moving the building and the rest by the grantee; the Secretary may also order relocation or removal for public interest at the grantee's expense, and the grantee may appeal such orders to the President.
The Secretary may relocate or raise them at the expense of the grantee.
Yes, all installation of instruments and all outside construction work must comply with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications.
Wires or conductors must be placed in one cable when there are twenty-five or more pairs on one pole line.
Such cables must be placed underground when ordered by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications.
Poles must be high enough to maintain wires at least ten feet above ground level and at least fifteen feet above streets or roads, placed so as not to endanger public safety, following a plan approved by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications.
The grantee shall surrender its franchise covering those areas and turn over all serviceable equipment at cost to the government.
The grantee must file a written acceptance with the Secretary of Public Works and Communications within forty days after the Act's approval, or the Act becomes null and void.
The Act takes effect upon the President's approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications' certification that the grantee has accepted the terms and is prepared to carry them out.