AN ACT GRANTING THE CULTURAL FOUNDATION OF DAVAO DEL SUR INCORPORATED (CFDI) A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING STATIONS IN DAVAO DEL SUR

• Number: Republic Act No. 10179
• Sections: 18

Section 1 Nature and Scope of Franchise.

SECTION 1. Nature and Scope of Franchise. – Subject to the

provisions of the Constitution and applicable laws, rules and

regulations, there is hereby granted to Cultural Foundation of Davao del

Sur Incorporated (CFDI), hereunder referred to as the grantee, its

successors or assigns, a franchise to construct, install, establish,

operate and maintain for commercial purposes and in the public interest,

radio and/or television broadcasting stations in Davao del Sur, where

frequencies and/or channels are still available for radio and/or

television broadcasting, through microwave, satellite, or whatever

means, including the use of any new technologies in radio and television

broadcasting, with the corresponding technological auxiliaries and

facilities, special broadcast and other program and distribution

services and relay stations.

Section 2 Manner of Operation of Stations or Facilities.

SEC. 2. Manner of Operation of Stations or Facilities. – The

stations or facilities of the grantee shall be constructed and operated

in a manner as will, at most, result only in the minimum interference

on the wavelengths or frequencies of existing stations or other stations

which may be established by law, without in any way diminishing its own

right to use its selected wavelengths or frequencies and the quality of

transmission or reception thereon as should maximize rendition of the

grantee’s services and/or availability thereof.

Section 3 Prior Approval of the National Telecommunications Commission.

SEC. 3. Prior Approval of the National Telecommunications Commission. – The

grantee shall secure from the National Telecommunications Commission

(NTC) the appropriate permits and licenses for the construction and

operation of its stations and facilities and shall not use any frequency

in the radio/television spectrum without having been authorized by the

Commission. The Commission, however, shall not unreasonably withhold or

delay the grant of any such authority.

Section 4 Responsibility to the Public.

SEC. 4. Responsibility to the Public. – The grantee shall

provide adequate public service time to enable the government, through

the said broadcasting stations or facilities, to reach the population on

important public issues; provide at all times sound and balanced

programming; assist in the functions of public information and

education; conform to the ethics of honest enterprise; and not use its

stations and facilities for the broadcasting of obscene and indecent

language, speech, act or scene; or for the dissemination of deliberately

false information or willful misrepresentation, to the detriment of the

public interest, or to incite, encourage or assist in subversive or

treasonable acts.

Section 5 Right of Government.

SEC. 5. Right of Government. – A special right is hereby

reserved to the President of the Philippines, in times of war,

rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster or disturbance of

peace and order, to temporarily take over and operate the stations or

facilities of the grantee, to temporarily suspend the operation of any

station or facility in the interest of public safety, security and

public welfare, or to authorize the temporary use and operation thereof

by any agency of the government, upon due compensation to the grantee,

for the use of said stations or facilities during the period when they

shall be so operated.

The radio spectrum is a finite resource that is part of the national

patrimony and the use thereof is a privilege conferred upon the grantee

by the State and may be withdrawn anytime after due process.

Section 6 Term of Franchise.

SEC 6. Term of Franchise. – This franchise shall be for a

term of twenty-five (25) years from the date of effectivity of this Act,

unless sooner revoked or cancelled. This franchise shall be deemed ipso facto revoked in the event the grantee fails to comply with any of the following conditions:

(a) Commence operations within one (1) year from the approval of its operating permit by the NTC;

(b) Operate continuously for two (2) years; and

(c) Commence operations within three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act.

Section 7 Acceptance and Compliance.

SEC 7. Acceptance and Compliance. – Acceptance of this

franchise shall be given in writing within sixty (60) days from the

effectivity of this Act. Upon giving such acceptance, the grantee shall

exercise the privileges granted under this Act. Nonacceptance shall

render the franchise void.

Section 8 Bond.

SEC 8. Bond. – The grantee shall file a bond issued in

favor of the NTC, which shall determine the amount, to guarantee the

compliance with and fulfillment of the conditions under which this

franchise is granted. If, after three (3) years from the date of the

approval of its permit by the Commission, the grantee shall have

fulfilled the same, the bond shall be cancelled by the Commission.

Otherwise, the bond shall be forfeited in favor of the government, and

the franchise ipso facto revoked.

Section 9 Self-regulation by and Undertaking of Grantee.

SEC 9. Self-regulation by and Undertaking of Grantee. – The

grantee shall not require any previous censorship of any speech, play,

act or scene, or other matter to be broadcast from its stations: Provided, That

the grantee, during any broadcast, shall cut off from the air the

speech, play, act or scene, or other matter being broadcast if the

tendency thereof is to propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or

sedition: or the language used therein or the theme thereof is indecent

or immoral; and willful failure to do so shall constitute a valid cause

for the cancellation of this franchise.

Section 10 Warranty in Favor of National and Local Governments.

SEC 10. Warranty in Favor of National and Local Governments. – The

grantee shall 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 the construction or operation of the stations of

the grantee.

Section 11 Nontransferability of Franchise.

SEC. 11. Nontransferability of Franchise. – The grantee

shall not lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, sell nor assign this

franchise or the rights and privileges acquired thereunder to any

person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity,

nor merge with any other corporation or entity, nor shall the

controlling interest of the grantee be transferred, whether as a whole

or in parts and whether simultaneously or contemporaneously, to any such

person, firm, company, corporation or entity without the prior approval

of the Congress of the Philippines. Any person or entity to which this

franchise is sold, transferred or assigned, shall be subject to the same

conditions, terms, restrictions and limitations of this Act.

Section 12 Dispersal of Ownership.

SEC. 12. Dispersal of Ownership. – In accordance with the

constitutional provision to encourage public participation in public

utilities, the grantee shall offer at least thirty per centum (30%)

of its outstanding capital stock or a higher percentage that may

hereafter be provided by law in any securities exchange in the

Philippines within five (5) years from the time it has achieved the

status of a national broadcasting network. A “national broadcasting

network” is hereby defined as one that operates three (3) or more radio

and/or television stations. Noncompliance therewith shall render the

franchise ipso facto revoked.

Section 13 Equality Clause.

SEC. 13. Equality Clause. – Any advantage, favor,

privilege, exemption or immunity granted under existing franchises, or

which may hereafter be granted for radio and/or television broadcasting,

shall ipso facto become part of this franchise and shall be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the herein grantee: Provided, however, That

the foregoing shall neither apply to nor affect provisions of

broadcasting franchises concerning territory covered by the franchise,

the life span of the franchise or the type of service authorized by the

franchise.

Section 14 General Broadcast Policy Law.

SEC. 14. General Broadcast Policy Law. – The grantee shall

comply with and be subject to the provisions of a general broadcast

policy law, which Congress may hereafter enact.

Section 15 Reportorial Requirement.

SEC. 15. Reportorial Requirement. – The grantee shall

submit an annual report to the Congress of the Philippines on its

compliance with the terms and conditions of the franchise and on its

operations within sixty (60) days from the end of every year.

Section 16 Separability Clause.

SEC. 16. Separability Clause. – If any of the sections or

provisions of this Act is held invalid, all the other provisions not

affected thereby shall remain valid.

Section 17 Repealability and Nonexclusivity Clause.

SEC. 17. Repealability and Nonexclusivity Clause. – This

franchise shall be subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the

Congress of the Philippines when the public interest so requires and

shall not be interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privileges herein

provided for.

Section 18 Effectivity Clause.

SEC. 18. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect

fifteen (15) days after its publication, upon the initiative of the

grantee, in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the

Philippines.

Approved,

(Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR.

Speaker of the House

of Representatives

(Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE

President of the Senate

This Act which originated in the House of Representatives was

finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on May 31,

2011 and June 4, 2012, respectively.

(Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP

Secretary General

House of Representatives

(Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES

Secretary of the Senate

Approved: SEP 21 2012

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

President of the Philippines