Franchise for Amcara Broadcasting Network

Section 2 requires the grantee’s stations or facilities to be constructed and operated to result in only minimum interference on wavelengths or frequencies of other existing stations and stations that may be established by law.
Section 2 protects the grantee’s right to use its selected wavelengths or frequencies without diminishing the grantee’s own right and also requires transmission or reception quality to maximize service rendition and/or availability.

Section 3 requires the grantee to secure permits and licenses from the National Telecommunications Commission for its stations.
Section 3 prohibits using any frequency in the radio/television spectrum without authorization from the Commission.
Section 3 directs that the Commission shall not unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of authority.

Section 4 mandates the grantee to provide adequate public service time so the government, through the grantee’s stations, can reach the population on important public issues.
Section 4 requires the grantee to provide sound and balanced programming at all times.
Section 4 requires the grantee to assist in public information and education.
Section 4 requires conformity with the ethics of honest enterprise.
Section 4 prohibits using the stations to broadcast obscene and indecent language, speech, act or scene, or to disseminate deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation to the detriment of the public interest.
Section 4 further prohibits using the stations to incite, encourage, or assist subversive and treasonable acts.

Section 5 reserves to the President of the Philippines a special right, in times of rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order, to:
- temporarily take over and operate the grantee’s stations; or
- temporarily suspend operation of any station in the interest of public safety, security, and public welfare; or
- authorize temporary use and operation by any government agency.
Section 5 requires due compensation to the grantee for the use of the stations during the period of such operation.

Section 6 sets the franchise term at twenty-five (25) years from the date of approval of this Act, unless sooner revoked or cancelled.
Section 6 imposes an automatic revocation condition: if the grantee fails to operate continuously for two (2) years, the franchise is deemed ipso facto revoked.

Section 7 provides that the franchise becomes effective upon acceptance in writing by the grantee.
Section 7 states that once acceptance is given, the grantee must exercise the privileges granted under the Act.
Section 7 provides that nonacceptance renders the franchise void.

Section 8 makes the grantee, its successors, or assigns liable to pay the same taxes on real estate, buildings, and personal property (exclusive of this franchise) as other persons or corporations under existing or future law.
Section 8 imposes an additional franchise tax equivalent to three percent (3%) of all gross receipts of the radio/television business transacted under the franchise.
Section 8 preserves liability for income taxes payable under Title II of the National Internal Revenue Code pursuant to Section 2 of Executive Order No. 72, unless that enactment is amended or repealed, in which case the amendment or repeal applies to it.
Section 8 requires the grantee to file the return with and pay the tax due to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or duly authorized representatives in accordance with the National Internal Revenue Code.
Section 8 provides that the return is subject to audit by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Section 9 prohibits the grantee from requiring any previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter to be broadcast and/or telecast from its stations.
Section 9 requires that during any broadcast and/or telecast, the grantee must cut off from the air the speech, play, act or scene, or other matter if it tends to:
- propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition; or
- use language or promote a theme that is indecent or immoral.
Section 9 provides that willful failure to cut off under these conditions constitutes a valid cause for the cancellation of this franchise.

Section 10 requires the grantee to hold national, provincial, and municipal governments of the Philippines harmless from claims, accounts, demands, or actions arising from accidents or injuries (to property or persons) caused by the construction or operation of the stations.

Section 11 prohibits the grantee from leasing, transferring, granting usufruct of, selling, or assigning the franchise or the rights and privileges acquired thereunder to any private entity without complying with the Act’s approval requirement.
Section 11 prohibits transferring the controlling interest in the grantee to any such private person, firm, company, corporation, or entity without the prior approval of the Congress of the Philippines.
Section 11 provides that any person or entity to which the franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned is subject to all the same conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of the Act.

Section 12 requires the grantee to comply with a general broadcast policy law that Congress may hereafter enact.

Section 13 provides a separability clause: if any section or provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions not affected remain valid.
Section 14 provides that the franchise is subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by Congress when the public interest so requires.
Section 14 states the franchise must not be interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privileges provided.

The law is Republic Act No. 8135, titled “AN ACT GRANTING THE AMCARA BROADCASTING NETWORK, INCORPORATED, A FRANCHISE TO ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING STATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES”, dated July 16, 1995.
Section 15 provides that the Act takes effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.
The Act grants franchise rights while requiring the grantee’s compliance with constitutional limitations and applicable laws, rules, and regulations (Section 1).