Amendment to People~s Television Network Law

Policy and purpose of revitalization

Section 2 declares State policy consistent with the Constitutional recognition of the vital role of communication and information in nation-building and the role of the broadcasting industry.
The State policy requires fully developing communication structures that meet national needs and aspirations while respecting freedom of speech and of the press (Section 2(a)).
The State policy gives priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development (Section 2(b)).
The State policy develops the broadcasting industry as a medium for Filipino nationalism, culture, and values as instruments for Filipino sovereignty, identity, national unity and integration (Section 2(c)).
The State policy harnesses government and private resources for close, continuous, and balanced cooperation that takes advantage of technological advances in broadcasting (Section 2(d)).
The State policy maintains a broadcast industry system as a vital link for participative democracy and effective government information dissemination through developmental communication, free from political or partisan influence, and accountable to the people (Section 2(e)).
The State policy encourages balanced programming featuring educational, wholesome entertainment, cultural, public affairs, and sports (Section 2(f)).
The State policy provides quality alternative programs for moral upliftment of the citizenry (Section 2(g)).

Network domicile and land identification

Section 3 amends Section 5 of Republic Act No. 7306 on domicile.
The Network must have its principal office and domicile in the Metropolitan Manila area (Section 5, as amended by Section 3).
The Network may establish offices, branches, and/or stations anywhere in the Philippines as the Board of Directors may see fit (Section 5, as amended by Section 3).
The President, upon recommendation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its agencies—particularly the Land Management Bureau and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority—must identify and appropriate alienable and disposable lands for the Network to establish and build its main broadcast center and major provincial stations (Section 5, as amended by Section 3).

Powers, functions, and airtime support

Section 4 amends Section 8 of Republic Act No. 7306 by revising specified powers of the Network.
The Network may sue or be sued in its corporate name and must have continuous succession in its corporate name (Section 8(a)-(b)).
The Network may adopt and use a corporate seal (Section 8(c)).
The Network may adopt by-laws not contrary to law, morals, or public policy and may amend or repeal the same under existing laws (Section 8(d)).
The Network may acquire, purchase, receive, take or grant, hold, convey, sell, lease, pledge, mortgage, and otherwise deal with real and personal property (Section 8(e)).
The Network may establish, purchase, install, construct, use, and maintain national, regional, provincial, and community stations and facilities for television broadcasting throughout and in any part of the country (Section 8(f)).
The Network may enter into joint ventures or partnerships with broadcasting authorities and stations, or international agencies or private organizations, to promote its broadcasting services (Section 8(g)).
The Network may raise, borrow, or obtain funds from any source and enter into financial or credit arrangements to support its objectives, subject to Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approval upon recommendation of the Department of Finance, and subject to other pertinent laws on public debt and expenditure (Section 8(h)).
The Network may receive donations and grants from any source, local or foreign, including official development assistance and concessional loans from foreign governments, foundations, or financial institutions (Section 8(i)).
The Network may enter into and perform contracts of any kind in furtherance of its corporate purpose (Section 8(j)).
The Network may accept corporate institutional support for developmental programs and determine the conditions for television transmission (Section 8(k)).
The Network may exercise general powers under the Corporation Code of the Philippines and incidental powers necessary to carry on its activities (Section 8(l)).
Section 5 amends Section 9 by revising its functions and includes the requirement that the Network provide subsidized airtime to legitimate people’s organizations and non-government organizations (NGOs) for the promotion of their programs and projects (Section 9(e)).

Board, Advisory Council, and leadership

Section 6 amends Section 10 to define the Board composition and appointment mechanism.
Corporate powers must be exercised, business conducted, and property controlled and held by the Board of Directors (Section 10, as amended by Section 6).
The Board must have five (5) members appointed by the President from a shortlist prepared by the Governance Commission for Government-owned or -controlled corporations (GCG) (Section 10, as amended by Section 6).
The Board must include two (2) members from the government sector (Section 10(a)).
The Board must include two (2) members from the private sector, with one (1) having at least ten (10) years of experience in the broadcast industry (Section 10(b)).
The Board must include one (1) member from the educational sector (Section 10(c)).
Section 7 inserts Section 10-A establishing an Advisory Council.
The Board must prepare, within sixty (60) days from appointment, a list of its recommended nominees for the Advisory Council members and submit the list to the Secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) for consideration and approval (Section 10-A, as inserted by Section 7).
Advisory Council nominees must be chosen from associations and organizations representing various stakeholders from different industries such as cinema, culture and arts, print and broadcast (Section 10-A, as inserted by Section 7).
Advisory Council members must serve a fixed term of one (1) year (Section 10-A, as inserted by Section 7).
The Advisory Council must have seven (7) members, each with at least five (5) years of wide experience and expertise in their respective fields (Section 10-A, as inserted by Section 7).
The Advisory Council must propose and recommend policies relating to the Network’s operation, programming, broadcasting, technical and creative production, development and management, subject to Board approval (Section 10-A, as inserted by Section 7).
Advisory Council members must elect a Chairperson from among themselves (Section 10-A, as inserted by Section 7).
Advisory Council members must render voluntary service and must not be paid any honoraria, allowances, and other personnel benefits (Section 10-A, as inserted by Section 7).
Section 8 amends Section 12 on Board term.
Each director’s term of office is one (1) year, subject to reappointment by the President (Section 12, as amended by Section 8).
The directors must elect a Chairperson from among themselves (Section 12, as amended by Section 8).
The Board must meet at least twice a month to discuss matters of policy to carry out the Act (Section 12, as amended by Section 8).
Section 9 amends Section 14 on the Network General Manager.
The Board must elect from among themselves a Network General Manager, who must also be the Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for proper administration and management in accordance with Board policies (Section 14, as amended by Section 9).
The General Manager is subject to the Board’s disciplinary powers and may be removed by the Board for cause (Section 14, as amended by Section 9).
If the General Manager is absent or incapacitated or temporarily unable to perform duties, the Board may designate an officer-in-charge to act during the period of absence (Section 14, as amended by Section 9).

Program standards and blocktimer limits

Section 10 amends Section 16 on General Program Standards.
The Board is mandated to set up a Code of Standards covering:
- Presentations of news (Section 16(a)),
- Public Affairs Programs and Commentaries (Section 16(b)),
- Public Service Programs (Section 16(c)),
- Educational Programs (Section 16(d)),
- Children’s Programs (Section 16(e)),
- Agriculture and Livelihood Programs (Section 16(f)),
- Women and Youth Issues (Section 16(g)),
- Locally-produced and foreign produced programs (Section 16(h)),
- Trade, service and manufacturing industry programs (Section 16(i)),
- Programs that inspire nationalism (Section 16(j)).
Section 11 amends Section 17 on blocktimers.
Blocktimers are allowed but must be limited to education, sports, tourism, quality entertainment programs, and programs promoting public interest (Section 17, as amended by Section 11).
Programs transmitted through blocktimers are subject to quality standards set by the Board (Section 17, as amended by Section 11).
The Network assumes solidary liability with each individual producer for the content of all programs shown by blocktimers (Section 17, as amended by Section 11).

Capital, revenues, and net earnings remittance

Section 12 amends Section 18 on capitalization.
The authorized capital stock of the Network is Six billion pesos (P6,000,000,000.00) divided into six million (6,000,000) shares with par value of One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) per share, subscribed in full by the government (Section 18, as amended by Section 12).
Of the additional authorized capital of Five billion pesos (P5,000,000,000.00):
- Two billion pesos (P2,000,000,000.00) must be taken from the proceeds of the privatization of Radio Philippines Network (RPN 9) and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC 13) (Section 18, as amended by Section 12),
- Three billion pesos (P3,000,000,000.00) must be appropriated under the General Appropriations Act (Section 18, as amended by Section 12).
Section 13 amends Section 19 on revenue generation.
The Network may generate funds from advertising and airtime sales in accordance with Board policies and rates, subject to existing laws (Section 19, as amended by Section 13).
All fees and other revenues collected or received by the Network must be retained and used solely for its operations and capital expenditure program (Section 19, as amended by Section 13).
Section 14 inserts Section 19-A on exemption from remittance rules under Republic Act No. 7656.
The President, upon recommendation by the Secretary of Finance, may adjust the percentage of the Network’s annual net earnings to be remitted to the National Treasury under Republic Act No. 7656 (Section 19-A, as inserted by Section 14).
Any annual remaining unremitted net earnings must be used solely for operations and capital expenditures (Section 19-A, as inserted by Section 14).

Tax benefits for gifts and donations

Section 15 inserts Section 21-A on gifts and donations.
Gifts and donations of real and personal properties of all kinds to the Network must be exempt from donor’s tax (Section 21-A, as inserted by Section 15).
Such gifts and donations must be considered as an allowable deduction from the gross income of the donor in accordance with the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended (Section 21-A, as inserted by Section 15).
The allowable deduction must be equivalent to one hundred percent (100%) of the value of the donation (Section 21-A, as inserted by Section 15).
The donation must be used exclusively for the production of educational, cultural and historical films and documentaries (Section 21-A, as inserted by Section 15).
The valuation of assistance other than money must be based on acquisition cost, taking into account the depreciated value of the property if the property has been used (Section 21-A, as inserted by Section 15).

Employees, civil service coverage, and compensation

Section 16 amends Section 22 on Civil Service Law coverage.
Hiring, appointment, employment, promotion, disciplinary control, and other terms and conditions of service for all Network employees must be consistent with Civil Service law, rules, and regulations (Section 22, as amended by Section 16).
Positions considered creative and artistic in nature must be exempted from qualification standards and civil service eligibility requirements (Section 22, as amended by Section 16).
Section 17 amends Section 23 on salary scale.
Under Republic Act No. 10149, the GCG must develop a compensation and position classification system applicable to all officers and employees of the Network subject to approval of the President of the Philippines (Section 23, as amended by Section 17).
Section 18 provides for reorganization.
Within ninety (90) days from approval of the Act, the Board is empowered to reorganize the Network to make it more effective and innovative (Section 18, as inserted/section provided by Section 18).
For reorganization, the Board may abolish or create offices, transfer functions, equipment, properties, records, and personnel, and institute cost-cutting and other related measures, subject to Republic Act No. 10149 (Section 18, as inserted/section provided by Section 18).
Officials and employees affected by the authorized reorganization are entitled to the benefits provided by law (Section 18, as inserted/section provided by Section 18).
Section 19 provides for separation and retirement benefits.
In the event an employee is separated due to reorganization, abolition or creation of offices, or institution of cost-cutting or similar measures, the employee must be entitled to separation benefit equivalent to one (1) month salary for every year of service in the government (Section 19, as inserted/section provided by Section 19).
The separated or displaced employee must have rendered at least one (1) year of service at the time of the Act’s effectivity to qualify (Section 19, as inserted/section provided by Section 19).

Implementation, amendments, and effect

Section 20 requires implementing rules and regulations.
Within ninety (90) days from effectivity of the Act, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) must draft the implementing rules and regulations of the Act in consultation with stakeholders from government and private sectors (Section 20).
Section 21 allows amendments.
The provisions of the Act are subject to amendments, alteration, or repeal by Congress when public interest so requires (Section 21).
Section 22 includes a separability clause.
If any provision or part of the Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder must continue in full force and effect (Section 22).
Section 23 includes a repealing clause.
All laws, decrees, executive orders, administrative orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the Act are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly (Section 23).
Section 24 provides effectivity.
The Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation (Section 24).