QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 11367)
It renews for 25 years the franchise under R.A. No. 8108 to construct, install, operate, and maintain for commercial purposes and in the public interest radio and/or television broadcasting stations and related systems, facilities, and structures in the Philippines, including services such as direct-to-home/user via satellite, pay and cable TV, multimedia and value-added services, subject to applicable constitutional and legal requirements.
It is for 25 years from the date of the effectivity of R.A. No. 11367, unless sooner revoked or cancelled.
The stations/facilities must be constructed and operated to result only in minimum interference on wavelengths/frequencies of existing or future lawful stations, without diminishing the grantee’s own privilege to use assigned frequencies and the quality of transmission/reception needed to maximize its services and their availability.
The grantee must secure from the NTC the appropriate permits and licenses for construction and operation. It shall not use any frequency without authorization from the NTC; however, the NTC shall not unreasonably withhold or delay such authority.
It must provide free of charge adequate public service time equivalent to a maximum aggregate of 10% of paid commercials/advertisements, allocated based on need to the executive, legislative, judiciary, constitutional commissions, and recognized international humanitarian organizations; provide sound and balanced programming; promote public participation; assist public information and education; conform to ethics of honest enterprise; promote audience sensibility including closed captioning; and not broadcast obscene/indecent content, deliberately false information/willful misrepresentation, or content that incites/encourages/assists subversive or treasonable acts.
In times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order, the President may temporarily take over and operate the stations/facilities, temporarily suspend operations for public safety/security/public welfare, or authorize temporary government use/operation upon due compensation to the grantee.
If the grantee fails to operate continuously for two (2) years.
No previous censorship is required by the grantee. However, during any broadcast, the grantee must cut off from the air any speech/play/act/scene or matter whose tendency is to propose/incite treason, rebellion, or sedition, or whose language/theme is indecent or immoral. Willful failure to do so is a valid cause for cancellation of the franchise.
The grantee must hold the national, provincial, city, and municipal governments free from claims, liabilities, demands, or actions arising out of accidents causing injury to persons or damage to properties during construction or operation of the stations.
The grantee must create employment opportunities and allow on-the-job trainings, prioritize residents in areas where its offices are located, comply with applicable labor standards, and reflect the jobs created in the General Information Sheet submitted to the SEC annually.
The grantee cannot sell/lease/transfer/grant usufruct/assign the franchise or its rights, merge with another entity, or transfer controlling interest without prior approval of Congress. Congress must be informed within 60 days after completion. Failure to report results in ipso facto revocation. Any assignee/transferee remains subject to the same conditions.
Within five years from commencement of operations, the grantee must offer to Filipino citizens at least 30% (or a higher percentage if later required by law) of its outstanding capital stock in any securities exchange in the Philippines; if public offer is not applicable, it must apply other lawful methods of encouraging public participation. Noncompliance results in ipso facto revocation.
The grantee must submit an annual report to Congress (through relevant House and Senate committees) on or before April 30 each year during the franchise term. A reportorial compliance certificate issued by Congress is required before any NTC application for permit/certificate is accepted. Failure to submit the annual report incurs a fine of P500 per working day of noncompliance, collected by the NTC and remitted to the National Treasury.
Except for taxes and customs duties, any advantage/favor/privilege/exemption/immunity granted under existing or future broadcasting franchises (upon prior review and approval of Congress) becomes part of this franchise and must be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the grantee. It does not apply to provisions concerning territorial coverage, term, or type of service authorized.
The franchise is subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by Congress when the public interest so requires and is not to be interpreted as an exclusive grant of privileges.
The separability clause preserves the validity of remaining provisions if one section is held invalid. The repealing clause states that inconsistent laws, decrees, orders, resolutions, instructions, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.