Manner of station operation standards
- The stations or facilities must be constructed and operated to result only in the minimum interference on the wavelengths or frequencies of existing stations or other stations that may be established by law.
- Operation must not diminish the grantee’s own right to use its selected wavelengths or frequencies.
- Operation must preserve the quality of transmission or reception on the selected wavelengths or frequencies to maximize rendition of the grantee’s services and/or availability.
NTC permits and spectrum authority
- The grantee must secure from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) the appropriate permits and licenses for construction and operation of its stations and facilities.
- The grantee must not use any frequency in the radio/television spectrum without NTC authorization.
- The NTC must not unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of the authority for such use.
Public service and broadcast responsibility
- The grantee must provide adequate public service time to enable the government, through its broadcasting stations or facilities, to reach the population on important public issues.
- The grantee must provide sound and balanced programming at all times.
- The grantee must assist in the functions of public information and education.
- The grantee must conform to the ethics of honest enterprise.
- The grantee must not use its stations or facilities to broadcast:
- obscene and indecent language, speech, act or scene; or
- deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation to the detriment of the public interest; or
- content that incite[s], encourage[s] or assist[s] in subversive or treasonable acts.
Government special right over stations
- The President of the Philippines, in times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order, may temporarily take over and operate the grantee’s stations or facilities.
- The President may temporarily suspend the operation of any station or facility in the interest of public safety, security and public welfare.
- The President may authorize temporary use and operation by any government agency, subject to due compensation to the grantee for use during the takeover period.
- The law declares that the radio spectrum is a finite resource part of national patrimony, and the use of it is a privilege conferred by the State that may be withdrawn anytime after due process.
Franchise term and automatic revocation conditions
- The franchise term is twenty-five (25) years from the date of effectivity of the Act, unless sooner revoked or cancelled.
- The franchise is ipso facto revoked if the grantee fails to comply with any of these conditions:
- Commence operations within one (1) year from approval of its operating permit or provisional authority by the NTC;
- Operate continuously for two (2) years; and
- Commence operations within three (3) years from the effectivity of the Act.
Written acceptance and franchise voiding
- The grantee must give written acceptance of the franchise within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of the Act.
- Upon acceptance, the grantee must exercise the privileges granted by the Act.
- Non-acceptance renders the franchise void.
NTC bond requirement and forfeiture
- The grantee must file a bond issued in favor of the NTC.
- The NTC determines the bond amount to guarantee compliance with and fulfillment of the franchise conditions.
- If the grantee fulfills the conditions after three (3) years from approval of its permit by the NTC, the bond is cancelled by the Commission.
- Otherwise, the bond is forfeited in favor of the government and the franchise is ipso facto revoked.
Undertaking on self-regulation of broadcasts
- The grantee must not require previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter to be broadcast.
- During any broadcast, the grantee must cut off from the air any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter being broadcast if it tends to propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition, or if the language used or theme is indecent or immoral.
- Willful failure to cut off when required is a valid cause for cancellation of the franchise.
Government indemnity for accidents and injuries
- The grantee must hold national, provincial, city and municipal governments free from all claims, accounts, demands or actions arising from accidents or injuries (whether to property or persons) caused by the construction or operation of the grantee’s stations.
Restrictions on transfer and franchise control
- The grantee must not lease, transfer, grant usufruct of, sell, or assign the franchise or its acquired rights and privileges to any person, firm, company, corporation, or other legal entity.
- The grantee must not merge with any other corporation or entity.
- The grantee must not transfer the controlling interest—whether as a whole or in parts and whether simultaneously or contemporaneously—to any such person, firm, company, corporation or entity—without prior approval of the Congress of the Philippines.
- The transfer/control limitations do not apply to permitted cases involving shares, including:
- transfer or issuance of shares to an investor pursuant to or in connection with an increase in authorized capital stock resulting in dilution of then-existing stockholders’ stockholdings;
- transfer or sale of shares of stock to an investor or investors;
- sale, transfer or assignment by the stockholders to a holding company whose stockholders are identical to the stockholders of the grantee; and
- combinations of the foregoing intended to enable the grantee to raise necessary capital or financing for services authorized by the Act and/or to carry out purposes for which the grantee was incorporated or organized.
- All permitted transfers must comply with applicable constitutional limitations.
- Any person or entity to which the franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned must be subject to the same conditions, terms, restrictions and limitations of the Act.
Public dispersal of ownership requirement
- The grantee must comply with the constitutional mandate to democratize ownership of public utilities by making a public offering through stock exchanges of at least thirty percent (30%) of its common stocks within five (5) years from achieving the status of a national broadcasting network.
- A “national broadcasting network” is defined as operating three (3) or more media and/or television stations.
- No single person or entity may own more than five percent (5%) of the stock offering.
- The offer requirement is deemed complied with if the offering to the public through securities and exchange in the Philippines of at least thirty percent (30%) of the number of shares of a holding company that owns at least a majority of the capital stock of the grantee results in an offer of at least thirty percent (30%) interest in the outstanding capital stock of the grantee.
- Non-compliance renders the franchise ipso facto revoked.
Tax obligations and broadcast policy coverage
- The grantee is not exempted from any and all tax obligations to the government.
- The grantee must comply with and be subject to a general broadcast policy law that Congress may hereafter enact.
Annual compliance report to Congress
- The grantee must submit an annual report to the Congress of the Philippines on:
- compliance with the terms and conditions of the franchise; and
- the grantee’s operations.
- The report must be submitted within sixty (60) days from the end of every year.
Separability, amendments, and non-exclusivity
- If any section or provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions not affected remain valid.
- The franchise remains subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by Congress when the public interest requires it.
- The franchise is not interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privileges provided in the Act.
Effectivity and publication requirement
- Republic Act No. 9214 takes effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its publication, upon the initiative of the grantee, in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.
- The Act is approved on July 23, 2003.
- The Act was approved by the President on July 23, 2003 and is effective 15 days after publication under the publication rule stated above.