Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 4609)
The main purpose of Republic Act No. 4609 is to grant Julio Arnaiz Garcia and Jose Arnaiz Garcia a franchise to install, operate, and maintain a telephone system in the municipalities of Tanjay, Bais, Manjuyod, and Pamplona in the Province of Oriental Negros for a period of twenty-five years.
The grantees are granted the right and privilege to construct, maintain, and operate a telephone system in the specified municipalities, including the use of streets and public thoroughfares to erect poles, string wires, build conduits, lay cables, and use other electrical transmission means.
All poles and conduits must be located with the approval of the municipal board, not disfigure streets, and wires must be strong and professionally laid. Wires must be at least fifteen feet above ground, and when there are many wire pairs, they must be placed in cables or underground as ordered by the Public Service Commission.
Before construction, the grantees must obtain a certificate of convenience and public necessity from the Public Service Commission, which authorizes such construction and imposes conditions as necessary for public convenience and interest.
The deposit of five thousand pesos or approved securities is an earnest of good faith guaranteeing that the grantees will be fully equipped and ready to begin the telephone service within six months after the certificate of convenience and public necessity is granted.
If the grantees fail to begin operation within twelve months and are not prevented by fortuitous causes, their deposit becomes the property of the National Government as liquidated damages, and no interest on securities will be paid thereafter.
No, the rights are not exclusive. The government may grant other franchises for telephone or electrical transmission services, provided that new installations do not impair the existing system and that the Public Service Commission adjudicates any conflicts.
The grantees must pay the Treasurer of the Philippines annually one percent of all gross receipts from the telephone business transacted under this franchise, which is in lieu of all taxes on the franchise or its earnings.
The grantees may not transfer, sell, or assign this franchise directly or indirectly without the previous and explicit approval of the Congress of the Philippines.
The Philippine Government can use the grantees' poles to attach one ten-pin crossarm and install telegraph wires without compensation. Additional wires may be installed with compensation agreed upon or fixed by the Public Service Commission. Local municipalities also have similar rights for police and fire alarm lines without compensation.
The grantees must keep all apparatus modern and first-class, maintain the telephone lines in a satisfactory manner, and modify or improve the system as required by the Public Service Commission to keep service efficient and adequate.
The grantees must raise or remove wires or conduits obstructing municipal work upon at least 48 hours' notice. The party requesting the removal pays half the cost of replacing or raising these wires or poles. The municipal mayor can order compliance at the grantees' expense if they refuse.
The grantees must surrender their franchise and turn over the system and serviceable equipment to the government at cost minus reasonable depreciation, allowing the government to maintain and operate the system directly.
The grantees must keep a separate account of the gross receipts and submit annual copies to the Auditor General and Treasurer. They must also submit quarterly reports showing gross and net receipts and the business condition, available for provincial auditor inspection.