Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 10905)
Republic Act No. 10905 requires all franchise holders or operators of television stations and producers of television programs to provide a closed captions option in the broadcast of their programs, including newscasts, news programs, and pre-scripted programs.
Closed caption is defined as a method of subtitling television programs by coding statements as vertical data signals that are decoded at the receiver and superimposed at the bottom of the television screen.
The exempt programs include: (a) Public service announcements shorter than ten minutes; (b) Programs shown from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.; (c) Programs primarily textual in nature; and (d) Programs where compliance would be economically burdensome.
The determination factors are: (1) The nature and cost of closed captions for the programming; (2) The impact on the operation of the provider or producer; (3) The financial resources of the provider or producer; and (4) The type of operations of the provider or producer.
Newscasts or news programs refer to reports of recent happenings of varied character (political, social, moral, religious, etc.) intended for the general public's information. It pertains to straight news reporting and excludes news analyses, editorials, commentaries, and opinions.
Violators shall be punished with a fine of not less than fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or imprisonment of not less than six months but not more than one year, or both, at the court's discretion. Further, if the offender is a juridical entity, the responsible officers may be held liable, and the license or permit to operate the business may be cancelled.
The president, manager, administrator, or person-in-charge of the management who knowingly and willfully assented or acted in bad faith or gross negligence in committing the violation shall be held liable.
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), in consultation with the National Telecommunications Commission and other concerned agencies and entities, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations within 120 days from the effectivity of the Act.
The IRR should include guidelines and applications of exemption, system of warnings, penalties and appeals, and mechanisms for monitoring and compliance.
RA 10905 took effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or at least two newspapers of general circulation, which occurred after July 21, 2016.
All laws, decrees, orders, rules, regulations, issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent with RA 10905 are repealed or amended accordingly.
If any provision of the Act is declared invalid, the other parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.