Title
Franchise renewal for Andres Bonifacio College Broadcasting
Law
Republic Act No. 11317
Decision Date
Apr 22, 2019
The franchise granted to Andres Bonifacio College Broadcasting System, Inc. is renewed for 25 years, allowing it to operate radio and television stations in Mindanao while ensuring compliance with public service obligations and regulatory oversight.
franchise
broadcasting
republic act

Manner of operation and technical safeguards

  • The grantee must construct and operate its stations or facilities in a manner that results at most in the minimum interference on wavelengths or frequencies of existing stations or other stations that may be established by law (Section 2).
  • Operation must not diminish the grantee’s own privilege to use its assigned wavelengths or frequencies and must maximize quality of transmission or reception (Section 2).

National Telecommunications Commission permits and licensing

  • The grantee must secure from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) the appropriate permits and licenses for construction and operation of its stations or facilities (Section 3).
  • The grantee must not use any frequency in the radio/television spectrum without authorization from the NTC (Section 3).

Public responsibility and programming obligations

  • The grantee must provide, free of charge, adequate public service time reasonable and sufficient to enable government access to the pertinent population/portions on important public issues (Section 4).
  • The grantee must relay important public announcements and warnings concerning public emergencies and calamities as necessity, urgency, or law may require (Section 4).
  • The grantee must provide sound and balanced programming, promote public participation, assist in functions of public information and education, and conform to the ethics of honest enterprise (Section 4).
  • The grantee must promote audience sensibility and empowerment through closed captioning (Section 4).
  • The grantee must not use its stations or facilities to broadcast obscene or indecent language, speech, act or scene, or to disseminate deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation to the detriment of public interest (Section 4).
  • The grantee must not incite, encourage, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts (Section 4).
  • Public service time must be equivalent to a maximum aggregate of 10% of the paid commercials or advertisements and must be allocated based on need to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government; constitutional commissions; and international humanitarian organizations duly recognized by statutes (Section 4).
  • The NTC must increase public service time in cases of extreme emergency or calamity, and the NTC must issue rules and regulations for this purpose with effectivity that commences upon applicability with other similarly situated broadcast franchise holders (Section 4).

Labor standards compliance and employment commitments

  • The grantee must comply with applicable labor standards under existing labor laws and related issuances promulgated by the Department of Labor and Employment, considering the nature and peculiarities of the broadcast industry (Section 5).
  • The grantee must create employment opportunities and must allow on-the-job trainings in franchise operations (Section 10).
  • Priority must be accorded to residents where the principal office is located (Section 10).
  • The grantee must follow applicable labor standards and allowance entitlement under existing labor laws, rules and regulations, and similar issuances (Section 10).
  • Employment opportunities or jobs created must be reflected in the General Information Sheet (GIS) submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission annually (Section 10).

Government rights, takeover, and spectrum nature

  • The radio spectrum is a finite resource part of the national patrimony, and its use is a privilege conferred by the State that may be withdrawn any time after due process (Section 6).
  • The President of the Philippines has a special right in times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order to:
    • temporarily take over and operate the stations or facilities of the grantee; or
    • temporarily suspend operation of any station or facility in the interest of public safety, security, and public welfare; or
    • authorize temporary use and operation by a government agency, upon due compensation to the grantee, during the period of such government operation (Section 6).

Franchise term, continuous operation condition

  • The franchise lasts twenty-five (25) years from the effectivity of the Act unless sooner revoked and cancelled (Section 7).
  • The franchise is deemed ipso facto revoked if the grantee fails to operate continuously for two (2) years (Section 7).

Self-regulation, censorship limits, and revocation triggers

  • The grantee must not require previous censorship of any speech, play, act, or scene, or other matter for broadcast from its stations (Section 8).
  • If any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter constitutes a violation of law or infringement of a private right, the grantee is free from civil or criminal liability for that speech, play, act or scene, or other matter broadcast (Section 8).
  • During any broadcast and/or telecast, the grantee must cut off from the air the speech, play, act or scene, or other matter if its tendency is to propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition, or if the language used or the theme is indecent or immoral (Section 8).
  • Willful failure to cut off the broadcast under this standard constitutes a valid cause for revocation and cancellation of the franchise (Section 8).

Warranties to government and ownership restrictions

  • The grantee must hold the national, provincial, city, and municipal governments free from all claims, liabilities, demands, or actions arising out of accidents causing injury to persons or damage to properties during construction or operation of the stations (Section 9).
  • The grantee must not sell, lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, or assign the franchise (or the rights and privileges acquired) to any person, firm, company, corporation, or other commercial/legal entity; must not merge with any other corporation or entity; and must not transfer the controlling interest of the grantee to any such person/entity without prior approval of Congress (Section 11).
  • Congress must be informed of any sale, lease, transfer, grant of usufruct, assignment of franchise rights/privileges, or merger or controlling interest transfer within sixty (60) days after completion of the transaction (Section 11).
  • Failure to report to Congress such change of ownership renders the franchise ipso facto revoked (Section 11).
  • Any person/entity to which the franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned is subject to the same conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of the Act (Section 11).
  • The grantee must offer Filipino citizens at least 30% (or a higher percentage as may be provided by law) of its outstanding capital stock in any securities exchange in the Philippines within five (5) years from commencement of operations (Section 12).
  • If public offer of shares is not applicable, the grantee must use other methods of encouraging public participation by citizens and corporations operating public utilities as allowed by law (Section 12).
  • Noncompliance with dispersal of ownership renders the franchise ipso facto revoked (Section 12).

Reporting, certification, and fine

  • The grantee must submit an annual report to Congress through the Committee on Legislative Franchises of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Public Services of the Senate on compliance with franchise terms and conditions and on operations, on or before April 30 of every year during the franchise term (Section 13).
  • Before an application for any permit, certificate, or equivalent thereof is accepted by the NTC, the grantee must present the reportorial compliance certificate issued by Congress (Section 13).
  • Failure to submit the required annual report to Congress is penalized by a fine of PHP 500.00 per working day of noncompliance (Section 14).
  • The NTC must collect the fine from the delinquent franchise grantee separately from NTC reportorial penalties and must remit it to the National Treasury (Section 14).

Equality clause, separability, and repeal effects

  • If any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or immunity in existing or future radio/television broadcasting franchises is granted under prior review and approval of Congress, it becomes part of the franchise and must be accorded to the grantee immediately and unconditionally (Section 15).
  • The equality clause does not apply to or affect franchise provisions regarding territorial coverage, term, or type of service authorized (Section 15).
  • If any section or provision of the Act is held invalid, the remaining provisions not affected remain valid (Section 16).
  • The franchise is subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by Congress when public interest so requires and is not to be interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privileges provided (Section 17).
  • All laws, orders, issuances, rules and regulations, or parts inconsistent with the Act are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly (Section 18).

Effectivity and publication rule

  • The Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation (Section 19).
  • Republic Act No. 11317 is approved on April 22, 2019 and is dated April 22, 2019 for enactment purposes.

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