Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 11151)
Isla Communications Company, Inc., presently known as Innove Communications, Inc., including its successors or assignees, is granted the franchise.
The franchise is renewed for another twenty-five (25) years from its date of expiration.
The grantee is authorized to construct, operate, and maintain mobile and fixed wireless telecommunications, cellular, telephone systems, broadband and internet services, and other related telecommunications services including international communications.
The NTC must issue a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, allocate frequencies and wavelengths, regulate construction and operation of stations, supervise radio telecommunications systems, and approve permits and licenses.
In times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order, the President can temporarily take over and operate the grantee's facilities with due compensation.
Failure to submit the annual report results in a fine of One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) per working day of noncompliance after applicability with other franchise grantees; before which a fine of Five hundred pesos (P500.00) per working day applies.
The franchise shall be deemed ipso facto revoked.
The grantee may excavate and lay cables or conductors in public places with prior approval from the Department of Public Works and Highways and the local government unit concerned, and must restore disturbed public places to their original condition.
The grantee must offer at least thirty percent (30%) of its outstanding capital stock to Filipino citizens within five years from the commencement of operations, or apply other methods to encourage public participation, failure of which leads to ipso facto revocation of the franchise.
No, the grantee cannot sell, lease, transfer, assign, merge, or transfer controlling interest of the franchise without prior approval of the Congress of the Philippines, except under specified conditions like stock exchange transactions or transfers to corporations controlled by the same stockholders.
The grantee is authorized to exercise eminent domain reasonably necessary for their telecommunications systems, but no private property can be taken without proper condemnation proceedings and just compensation.
Charges and rates for telecommunications services are subject to approval by the NTC except for rates declared as nonregulated services.
The grantee must provide MNP and set up mechanisms to implement it, interconnect with other franchise grantees’ systems, and must not install features that impede nationwide MNP.
The grantee pays taxes on real estate and personal property like other corporations but radio telecommunications and electronic communications equipment are exempt from customs duties and some taxes; the grantee pays value-added tax on gross receipts but is exempt from other taxes related to the franchise business.
The grantee must operate honestly, avoid obscene or false transmissions, maintain satisfactory quality, improve services especially in hazard-prone areas, and comply with the Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act.