Renewal of Manila Broadcasting Company Franchise

Operation standards and interference limits

Section 2 requires stations or facilities to be constructed and operated so that they result only in the minimum interference on the wavelengths or frequencies of existing stations or other stations that may be established by law.
Section 2 requires operation without diminishing the grantee’s privilege to use its assigned wavelengths or frequencies.
Section 2 requires that the grantee maximize the quality of transmission or reception and the availability of its services.

NTC permits and frequency authorization

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

Public-service obligations and programming rules

Section 4 requires the grantee to provide free of charge adequate public service time to enable government broadcasting stations or facilities to reach pertinent populations on important public issues.
Section 4 requires the grantee to relay important public announcements and warnings concerning public emergencies and calamities as necessity, urgency, or law may require.
Section 4 mandates that the grantee maintain sound and balanced programming at all times and promote public participation and assist in public information and education.
Section 4 requires conformity with the ethics of honest enterprise and mandates audience sensibility and empowerment, including closed captioning.
Section 4 prohibits using stations and facilities to broadcast obscene and indecent language, speech, act or scene, or deliberately false information and willful misinterpretation to the detriment of the public interest.
Section 4 prohibits using stations and facilities to incite, encourage, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.
Section 4 defines public service time as equivalent to a maximum aggregate of ten percent (10%) of the paid commercials or advertisements, allocated based on need to the executive, legislative, judiciary, constitutional commissions and international humanitarian organizations duly recognized by statutes.
Section 4 allows the NTC to increase public service time in cases of extreme emergency or calamity, and requires the NTC to issue rules and regulations effective when applicable with other similarly situated broadcast network franchise holders.

Government special right during crises

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

Franchise term, continuous operation, and revocation

Section 6 states the franchise remains in effect for twenty-five (25) years from the effectivity of Republic Act No. 11109, unless sooner revoked or cancelled.
Section 6 provides that the franchise is ipso facto revoked if the grantee fails to operate continuously for two (2) years.

Public ownership and self-regulation

Section 7 requires the grantee, its successors or assignees to continue maintaining status as a publicly-held corporation to comply with the constitutional mandate to democratize ownership of public utilities.
Section 8 prohibits the grantee from requiring any previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter to be broadcast.
Section 8 requires the grantee, during any broadcast, to cut off from the air any speech, play, act or scene, or other matter if its tendency is to propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition, or if the language or theme is indecent or immoral.
Section 8 provides that willful failure to cut off when required constitutes a valid cause for cancellation of this franchise.

Public liability warranty and employment commitment

Section 9 requires the grantee to hold national, provincial, city and municipal governments free from claims, liabilities, demands, or actions arising from accidents causing injuries to persons or damage to properties during construction or operation.
Section 10 requires the grantee to create employment opportunities and allow on-the-job trainings in franchise operation.
Section 10 requires priority to residents in areas where any of its offices is located.
Section 10 requires compliance with applicable labor standards and allowance entitlement under existing labor laws and similar issuances.
Section 10 requires that employment opportunities or jobs created be reflected in the General Information Sheet (GIS) submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) annually.

Tax, transfer limits, reporting, and penalties

Section 11 provides that the grantee, its successors or assignees remain subject to all applicable taxes, duties, fees, and other charges under Republic Act No. 8424 (the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended) and other applicable law.
Section 12 prohibits the grantee from selling, leasing, transferring, granting the usufruct of, or assigning the franchise or rights and privileges acquired thereunder to any person, firm, company, corporation, or other commercial or legal entity.
Section 12 prohibits merging with any other corporation or entity and prohibits transferring the controlling interest of the grantee, whether as a whole or in part, whether simultaneously or contemporaneously, to any person, firm, company, corporation, or entity, without prior approval of the Congress of the Philippines and compliance with legal requirements in other statutes.
Section 12 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 Republic Act No. 11109.
Section 13 requires an annual report to Congress through the Committee on Legislative Franchises of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Public Services of the Senate.
Section 13 sets the deadline for the annual report as on or before April 30 of every year during the term of the franchise.
Section 13 requires a reportorial compliance certificate issued by Congress before any application for permit or certificate is accepted by the NTC.
Section 14 penalizes failure to submit the annual report by imposing a fine of Five hundred pesos (P500.00) per working day of noncompliance.
Section 14 directs that the NTC collects the fine from the delinquent franchise grantee and that the fine is collected separately from reportorial penalties imposed by the NTC and remitted to the National Treasury.

Equality clause and franchise maintenance provisions

Section 15 requires that any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or immunity granted under existing franchises, or later granted for radio and/or television broadcasting, after prior review and approval of Congress, becomes part of the franchise and is accorded to the grantee immediately and unconditionally.
Section 15 limits the equality clause by excluding effects on provisions of broadcasting franchises concerning territory, the life span of the franchise, or the type of service authorized by the franchise.
Section 16 provides a separability clause: if any section or provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions not affected remain valid.
Section 17 states the franchise is subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by Congress when the public interest requires and must not be interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privileges.
Section 18 provides a repealing clause: all laws, decrees, orders, resolutions, instructions, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts inconsistent with Republic Act No. 11109 are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

Effectivity, approval, and publication rule

Section 19 provides that Republic Act No. 11109 takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Republic Act No. 11109 was approved: October 30, 2018.
Republic Act No. 11109 renews the franchise granted under Republic Act No. 7816 for a renewed term of twenty-five (25) years, subject to the continuous operation revocation rule in Section 6.