Franchise renewal for Eagle Broadcasting Corp.

Manner of operation and interference limits

The grantee must construct and operate its stations and facilities so that they result, at most, in minimum interference on the wavelengths or frequencies of existing stations and other stations that may be established by law.
Operation must not diminish the grantee’s own right to use its selected wavelengths or frequencies.
The grantee must maximize the quality of transmission or reception to maximize the rendition of its services and/or the availability thereof (Section 2).

National Telecommunications Commission permits

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

Public service and program standards

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 and facilities to broadcast obscene and indecent language, speech, act or scene.
The grantee must not disseminate deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation to the detriment of the public interest.
The grantee must not incite, encourage, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts (Section 4).

Government special right and spectrum privilege

The President may, in times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order, reserve special rights to:
- temporarily take over and operate the stations or facilities of the grantee;
- 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 any government agency upon due compensation to the grantee during the period of such operation (Section 5).
The radio spectrum is treated as a finite national resource and its use is a privilege conferred by the State that may be withdrawn anytime after due process (Section 5).

Franchise acceptance and nonacceptance effect

The grantee must submit written acceptance of the franchise to Congress through the Committee on Legislative Franchises of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Public Services of the Senate within sixty (60) days from effectivity of the Act (Section 7).
Upon giving acceptance, the grantee must exercise the privileges granted by the Act.
Failure to accept within the required time renders the franchise void (Section 7).

Self-regulation, censorship limits, and cancellation

The grantee must not require previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter to be broadcast (Section 8).
During any broadcast, the grantee must cut off from the air:
- speech, play, act or scene, or other matter whose tendency is to propose and/or incite treason, rebellion, or sedition; or
- language whose theme is indecent or immoral (Section 8).
Willful failure to cut off as required is a valid cause for cancellation of the franchise (Section 8).

Government indemnity for accidents and injuries

The grantee must hold the national, provincial, city and municipal governments of the Philippines free from all claims, accounts, demands, or actions arising out of accidents or injuries—whether to property or to persons—caused by construction or operation of the grantee’s stations (Section 9).

Transfer restrictions and congressional approval

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.
The grantee must not merge with any other corporation or entity.
The grantee must not transfer 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 Congress (Section 10).
Congress must be informed of any lease, transfer, granting of usufruct, sale, or assignment of franchise or rights and privileges within sixty (60) days after completion of the transaction (Section 10).
Failure to report the change of ownership to Congress renders the franchise ipso facto revoked (Section 10).
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 (Section 10).

Dispersal of ownership to citizens

The grantee must offer Filippine citizens at least ten percent (10%) of its outstanding capital stock, or a higher percentage if later required by law in any securities exchange in the Philippines, within five (5) years from achieving the status of a national broadcasting network (Section 11).
A national broadcasting network is one that operates at least three (3) radio/television stations (Section 11).
Noncompliance renders the franchise ipso facto revoked (Section 11).

Compliance with future general broadcast policy

The grantee must comply with and be subject to provisions of a general broadcast policy law that Congress may enact in the future (Section 12).

Parity clause for Congress-approved advantages

Any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or immunity granted under existing franchise—or granted in the future for radio and/or television broadcasting—becomes part of this franchise and must be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the grantee if granted upon prior review and approval of Congress (Section 13).
The parity rule does not apply to provisions of broadcasting franchises concerning territory, the life span of the franchise, or the type of service authorized by the franchise (Section 13).
The parity rule does not apply to sale, lease, transfer, granting of usufruct, or assignment of legislative franchises with prior Congressional approval (Section 13).

Annual report to Congress; NTC permit condition

The grantee must submit an annual report to Congress through:
- the Committee on Legislative Franchise of the House of Representatives, and
- the Committee on Public Services of the Senate, on compliance with franchise terms and conditions and on operations.
The annual report must be submitted on or before April 30 of the succeeding year (Section 14).
A reportorial compliance certificate issued by Congress is required before any application for permit or certificate is accepted by the NTC (Section 14).

Penalties for late annual reporting

Failure to submit the annual report to Congress results in a fine of five hundred pesos (P500.00) per working day of noncompliance (Section 15).
The fine is collected by the NTC from the delinquent franchise grantee, separate from reportorial penalties imposed by the NTC.
The collected funds accrue to the monitoring fund of the NTC in line with its supervisory and regulatory functions (Section 15).

Cancellation-related grounds and revocation triggers

The franchise is ipso facto revoked if the grantee fails to operate continuously for two (2) years (Section 6).
The franchise is void if the grantee does not give required written acceptance to Congress within sixty (60) days from effectivity (Section 7).
The franchise is ipso facto revoked for failure to report change of ownership to Congress within sixty (60) days after completion (Section 10).
The franchise is ipso facto revoked for failure to comply with citizen ownership dispersal requirements within the required period and threshold (Section 11).
Willful failure to cut off broadcast content when required is a valid cause for cancellation of the franchise (Section 8).

Publication, effectivity, and validity mechanics

The Act must be published through the initiative of the grantee fifteen (15) days after it has been signed by the President of the Philippines or after it has lapsed into law (Section 18).
The Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation (Section 19).
If any section or provision 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 must not be interpreted as an exclusive grant of privileges (Section 17).

Issuance details and approval

Republic Act No. 10773 is titled: “An Act Renewing for Another Twenty-Five (25) Years the Franchise Granted to Eagle Broadcasting Corporation as Provided under Republic Act No. 7299.”
The Act was approved on May 03, 2016.
The franchise is renewed to run from November 3, 2018 for twenty-five (25) years, unless sooner cancelled (Sections 1 and 6).
The Act originated in the House of Representatives and was passed by the House of Representatives on January 26, 2015 and by the Senate on December 7, 2015.