Franchise for Information Broadcast Unlimited, Inc.

Operational standards and interference limitation

Section 2 requires the grantee to construct and operate stations/facilities in a manner that results in only the minimum interference on wavelengths or frequencies of existing stations and other stations that may be established by law.
Section 2 directs that this interference standard must not diminish the grantee’s own right to use its selected wavelengths or frequencies.
Section 2 requires that transmission and reception quality be maintained to maximize rendition of services and/or availability.

National Telecommunications Commission approvals

Section 3 requires the grantee to secure from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) the appropriation permits and licenses for construction and operation of stations and facilities.
Section 3 prohibits using any frequency in the radio/television spectrum without NTC authorization.
Section 3 provides that the NTC shall not unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of authority.

Public service and broadcast responsibility

Section 4 requires the grantee to provide adequate public service time to enable the government, through the stations/facilities, to reach the population on important public issues.
Section 4 requires the grantee to provide sound and balanced programming at all times.
Section 4 requires assistance to the functions of public information and education.
Section 4 requires conformity to the ethics of honest enterprise.
Section 4 prohibits using stations/facilities to broadcast obscene and indecent language, speech, act or scene.
Section 4 prohibits dissemination of deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation, to the detriment of the public interest.
Section 4 prohibits broadcasts that incite, encourage, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.

Government emergency takeover; spectrum as privilege

Section 5 reserves to the President of the Philippines the 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/facilities, or
- temporarily suspend the operation of any station/facility 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 any temporary government operation or use.
Section 5 states that the radio spectrum is a finite resource part of the national patrimony and that use is a privilege conferred by the State which may be withdrawn anytime after due process.

Franchise term, automatic revocation conditions

Section 6 sets the franchise term at twenty-five (25) years from the date of effectivity of the Act unless sooner revoked or cancelled.
Section 6 provides that the franchise is ipso facto revoked if the grantee fails to comply with any of these conditions:
- Commence operations within one (1) year from NTC approval of its operating permit;
- Operate continuously for two (2) years; and
- Commence operations within three (3) years from the effectivity of the Act.

Acceptance, bond, and forfeiture mechanics

Section 7 requires the grantee to give written acceptance of the franchise within sixty (60) days from the Act’s effectivity.
Section 7 provides that upon acceptance, the grantee shall exercise the franchise privileges.
Section 7 states that nonacceptance renders the franchise void.
Section 8 requires the grantee to file a bond issued in favor of the NTC to guarantee compliance with franchise conditions, with the NTC determining the amount.
Section 8 provides that if the grantee has fulfilled the required conditions after three (3) years from NTC permit approval, the bond shall be cancelled by the NTC.
Section 8 provides that otherwise, the bond shall be forfeited in favor of the government and the franchise is ipso facto revoked.

Self-regulation and cancellation for willful failure

Section 9 prohibits the grantee from requiring any previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter to be broadcast.
Section 9 requires the grantee, during any broadcast, to cut off from the air any speech/play/act/scene or other matter if its tendency is to propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition.
Section 9 requires cutting off from the air if the language used or the theme thereof is indecent or immoral.
Section 9 provides that willful failure to cut off constitutes a valid cause for cancellation of the franchise.

Government-harmless warranty requirement

Section 10 requires the grantee to hold the national, provincial, city 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 grantee’s construction or operation.

Nontransferability and ownership dispersal

Section 11 prohibits the grantee from leasing, transferring, granting usufruct of, selling, or assigning the franchise or the rights and privileges acquired under it to any person, firm, company, corporation, or other entity.
Section 11 prohibits transferring the controlling interest of the grantee, whether as a whole or in parts and whether simultaneously or contemporaneously, to any such person or entity, without prior approval of the Congress of the Philippines.
Section 11 requires that any person or entity to which the franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned be subject to the same conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of the Act.
Section 12 requires the grantee, under the constitutional policy to encourage public participation in public utilities, to offer at least thirty per centum (30%) of its outstanding capital stock (or a higher percentage if later required by law) in a securities exchange in the Philippines.
Section 12 requires the offer within five (5) years from the time the grantee achieves status as a national broadcasting network.
Section 12 defines a “national broadcasting network” as operating three (3) or more radio and/or television stations.
Section 12 provides that noncompliance renders the franchise ipso facto revoked.
Section 13 imposes an equality clause: any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or immunity granted under existing franchises or granted later for radio and/or television broadcasting becomes part of this franchise and must be accorded to the grantee immediately and unconditionally.
Section 13 preserves exceptions for franchise provisions concerning territory, life span, or the type of service authorized.

Policy compliance, reporting, and future law subject

Section 14 requires compliance with and subjection to a general broadcast policy law that Congress may enact in the future.
Section 15 requires the grantee to submit an annual report to Congress on compliance with franchise terms/conditions and on operations within sixty (60) days from the end of every year.

Separability, repeal, amendment, and nonexclusivity

Section 16 provides that if any section or provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions not affected remain valid.
Section 17 provides that the franchise is subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by Congress when the public interest so requires.
Section 17 states the franchise is not an exclusive grant of the privileges provided.

Effectivity and publication rule

Section 18 provides that the Act 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 Republic Act No. 9652 and is approved July 12, 2009.
The Act lapses into law on JUL 12 2009 without the signature of the President in accordance with Article VI, Section 27 (1) of the Constitution.