Broadcasting franchise for Eagle Broadcasting Corp.

Section 1 grants authority to establish, maintain and operate radio broadcasting and television stations in the Philippines.
The franchise continues for a period of twenty-five years from the date the stations shall be put in operation (Section 2).
The franchise is granted on express conditions:
- Construction of at least one radio broadcasting station or one television station must be began within one year from the date of approval of the Act (Section 2).
- Construction must be completed within two years from that same date (Section 2).
The franchise becomes void unless the construction conditions are met (Section 2).

The grantee must provide adequate public service time so that the government, through its stations, can reach the population on important issues (Section 3).
The grantee must assist in public information and education (Section 3).
The grantee must conform to the ethics of honest enterprise (Section 3).
The grantee is prohibited from using its stations for the dissemination of deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation (Section 3).
The grantee is prohibited from using its stations to the detriment of the public health and morals, or from inciting, encouraging or assisting in subversive or treasonable acts (Section 3).

The grantee’s radio broadcasting and television stations cannot be put in actual operation until the Secretary of Public Works and Communications has:
- allotted the frequencies and wave lengths to be used under the franchise, and
- issued to the grantee a license for such use (Section 4).
The stations must be constructed and operated to avoid interference with existing radio and television stations (Section 5).
The wave lengths must be selected to permit the expansion of the grantee’s service (Section 5).

The President reserves a special right, in time of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, disaster or disturbance of peace or order, to:
- cause the closing of the stations, or
- authorize the temporary use and operation of the stations by any government department (Section 6).
The grantee is not compensated for such temporary use and operation during the period of government operation (Section 6).

The grantee is liable to pay the same taxes as other persons or corporations on its real estate, buildings and personal property, exclusive of the franchise, unless exempted therefrom (Section 7).
The grantee is also liable to pay all other taxes provided in the National Internal Revenue Code by reason of the franchise (Section 7).

The grantee must give written acceptance of the franchise within six months after the Act’s approval (Section 8).
Upon acceptance, the grantee is empowered to exercise the franchise privileges granted in the Act (Section 8).
The grantee must file a bond in the amount of ten thousand pesos to guarantee full compliance with fulfillment of the franchise conditions (Section 9).
After two years from the date of acceptance, if the grantee has fulfilled the franchise conditions, or as soon thereafter as the grantee fulfills them, the bond is cancelled by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications (Section 9).

The grantee must not require any previous censorship of any speech, play, act, scene, or other matter to be broadcast and/or telecast from its stations (Section 10).
If any broadcast and/or telecast matter constitutes a violation of law or infringes a private right, the grantee is free from civil or criminal liability for that speech, play, act, scene, or other matter (Section 10).
The grantee may cut off from the air the speech, play, act, scene, or other matter during any broadcast and/or telecast if the tendency is to propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition, or if the language is indecent or immoral (Section 10).

The grantee must not lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, sell, or assign the franchise or the rights and privileges acquired thereunder to any person, firm, company, corporation, or other commercial or legal entity without first obtaining Congress of the Philippines approval (Section 11).
The grantee must not merge with any other company or corporation organized for the same purpose without first obtaining Congress of the Philippines approval (Section 11).
Any corporation to which the franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned must be subject to Philippine corporation laws now existing or later enacted (Section 11).
Any person or entity to which the franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned must be subject to all conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of the franchise to the same extent as if the franchise were originally granted to that party (Section 11).

The franchise is subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the Congress of the Philippines when the public interest so requires (Section 12).
The franchise is not interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privileges provided in the Act (Section 12).