Republic Act No. 10343 (RA 10343) — An Act Renewing the Franchise Granted to Philippine Global Communications, Inc. (Formerly Rca Communications, Inc.) for Another Twenty-Five (25) Years, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act No. 4617
Nature and Scope of Franchise.
SECTION 1. Nature and Scope of Franchise.
– Subject to
the provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and applicable laws,
rules and regulations, there is hereby granted to Philippine Global
Communications, Inc. (formerly RCA Communications, Inc.), 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, throughout the Philippines and
between the Philippines and other countries and territories, wire and/or
wireless telecommunications systems including, but not limited to,
mobile, cellular, paging, fiber optics, multi-channel multi-point
distribution system (MMDS), local multi-point distribution system
(LMDS), satellite transmit and receive systems, switches and their
value-added services such as, but not limited to, transmission of voice,
data, facsimile, control signs, audio and video, information services
bureau and all other telecommunications systems technologies as are at
present available or will be made available through technological
advances or innovations in the future; and/or construct, acquire, lease
and operate or manage transmitting and receiving stations, lines, cables
or systems as are convenient or essential to efficiently carry out the
purpose of this franchise.
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.
Authority of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
SEC. 3. Authority of the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC). – The
grantee shall secure from the NTC, hereinafter referred to as the
Commission, a certificate of public convenience and necessity or the
appropriate permits and licenses for the construction, installation and
operation of its telecommunications systems/facilities. In issuing the
certificate, the Commission shall have the power to impose such
conditions relative to the construction, operation, maintenance or
service level of the telecommunications system. The Commission shall
have the authority to regulate the construction and operation of its
telecommunications systems. The grantee shall not use any frequency in
the radio spectrum without having been authorized by the Commission.
Such certificate shall state the areas covered and date the grantee
shall commence the service. The Commission, however, shall not
unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of any such authority, permits
or licenses.
Excavation and Restoration Works.
SEC 4. Excavation and Restoration Works. –
For the
purpose of erecting and maintaining poles or other supports for said
wires or other conductors for the purpose of laying and maintaining
underground wires, cables or other conductors, it shall be lawful for
the grantee, its successors or assigns, with the prior approval of the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) or the local government
unit (LGU) concerned, as may be appropriate, to make excavations or lay
conduits in any of the public places, highways, streets, lanes, alleys,
avenues, sidewalks or bridges of said province, cities and/or
municipalities: Provided,however,
That a public place,
highway, street, lane, alley, avenue; sidewalk or bridge disturbed,
altered or changed by reason of erection of poles or other supports or
the underground laying of wires, other conductors or conduits, shall be
repaired and replaced in workmanlike manner by said grantee, its
successors or assigns, in accordance with the standards set by the DPWH
or the LGU concerned. Should the grantee, its successors or assigns,
after the ten (10)-day nonce from the said authority, fail, refuse or
neglect to repair or replace any part, of public place, road, highway,
street, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk or bridge altered, changed or
disturbed by the said grantee, its successors or assigns, then the DPWH
or the LGU concerned shall have the right to have the same repaired and
placed in good order and condition at double expense to be charged
against the grantee, its successors or assigns.
Responsibility to the Public.
SEC. 5. Responsibility to the Public. –
The grantee shall
conform to the ethics of honest enterprise and not use its
stations/facilities for obscene or indecent transmission or for
dissemination of deliberately false information or willful
misrepresentation, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.
The grantee shall provide basic or enhanced telephone
service in
any city and/or municipality in the Philippines where it has an approved
certificate of public convenience and necessity for the establishment,
operation and maintenance of a local exchange service, without
discrimination to any applicant therefor, in the order of the date of
their applications, up to the limit of the capacity of its local
telephone exchange, and should the demand for the telephone service at
any time increase beyond the capacity thereof, the grantee shall
increase the same to meet such demand: Provided,
That in case
the total demand to be satisfied by the expansion is less than the
smallest viable local exchange available in the market as determined by
the Commission, the grantee shall not be obliged to furnish such service
unless the applicant for telephone service defrays the actual expenses
for the installation of the telecommunications apparatus necessary for
such services and in such case, the Commission may extend the time
within which the grantee shall furnish such service.
The grantee shall operate and maintain all its stations,
lines,
cables, systems and equipment for the transmission and reception of
messages, signals and pulses in a satisfactory manner at all times, and
as far as economical and practicable, modify, improve or change such
stations, lines, cables, systems and equipment to keep abreast, with the
advances in science and technology.
Rates for Services.
SEC. 6. Rates for Services. – The
charges and rates for
telecommunications services of the grantee, except the rates and charges
on those that may hereafter be declared or considered as nonregulated
services, whether fiat rates or measured rates or variation thereof,
shall be subject to the approval of the Commission or its legal
successor. The rates to be charged by the grantee shall be unbundled,
separable and distinct among the services offered and shall be
determined in such a manner that regulated services do not subsidize the
unregulated ones.
Right of Government.
SEC. 7. 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,
transmitters, faculties or equipment of the grantee, to temporarily
suspend the operation of any station, transmitter, facility or equipment
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, transmitters, facilities or equipment during the period when
they shall be so operated.
The radio spectrum is a finite resource that is pan of the
national patrimony and the use thereof is a privilege conferred upon the
grantee by the Stats and may be withdrawn anytime after due process.
Term of Franchise.
SEC. 8. Term of Franchise. – This
franchise shall be in
effect for a period of twenty-five (25) years from the date of
effectivity of this Act, unless sooner cancelled. This franchise shall
be deemed ipsofacto revoked in
the event the grantee fails to operate continuously within two (2)
years.
Acceptance and Compliance.
SEC. 9. Acceptance and Compliance. –
Acceptance of this
franchise shall be given in writing to the Congress of the Philippines,
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 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.
Bond.
SEC. 10. Bond. – The grantee shall file
a bond with the
NTC in the amount that it shall determine 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
conditions, 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.
Right of Interconnection.
SEC. 11. Right of Interconnection. –
The grantee is
hereby authorized to connect or demand connection of its
telecommunications systems to other telecommunications systems
installed, operated and maintained by any other duly authorized person
or entity in the Philippines for the purpose of providing extended and
improved telecommunications services to the public, under such terms and
conditions mutually agreed upon by the parties concerned and the same
shall be subject to the review and modification of the Commission.
Gross Receipts.
SEC. 12. Gross Receipts. – The grantee,
its successors or
assigns, shall keep a separate account of the gross receipts of the
business transacted by it and shall furnish the Commission on Audit
(COA) and the National Treasury a copy of such account not later than
the thirty-first (31 st) day of January of each year for the preceding
twelve (12) months.
Books and Accounts.
SEC. 13. Books and Accounts. – The
books and accounts of
the grantee, its successors or assigns, shall always be open to the
inspection of the COA and its duly-authorized representatives. It shall
be the duty of the grantee to submit to the COA two (2) copies of the
quarterly reports on the gross receipts, the net profits and the general
condition of the business.
Warranty in Favor of the National and Local Governments.
SEC. 14. Warranty in Favor of the 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,
transmitters, facilities and equipment of the grantee.
Sale, Lease, Transfer, Usufruct or Assignment of Franchise.
SEC. 15. Sale, Lease, Transfer, Usufruct or
Assignment of Franchise. –
The grantee shall not sell, lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, or
assign this franchise or the rights and privileges acquired thereunder
to any person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal
entity, or merge with any other corporation or entity, or shall transfer
the controlling interest of the grantee, 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: Provided, That
Congress shall be
informed of any sale, lease, transfer, grant of usufruct or assignment
of franchise or the rights or privileges acquired within sixty (60) days
after the completion of said transaction: Provided, further,
That failure to report to Congress such change of ownership
shall render the franchise ipso facto revoked:
Provided, finally, That
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.
Dispersal of Ownership.
SEC. 16. Dispersal of Ownership. – In
accordance with the
constitutional provision to encourage public participation in public
utilities, the grantee shall offer to Filipino citizens at least thirty
per centum (30%)
or a higher percentage that may hereafter be provided by law of its
outstanding capital stock in any securities exchange in the Philippines
within five (5) years from the commencement of its operations.
Noncompliance therewith shall render the franchise ipso facto
revoked.
Reportorial Requirement.
SEC. 17. Reportorial Requirement. – The
grantee shall
submit, an annual report to the Congress of the Philippines, through the
Committee on Legislative Franchises of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Public Services of the Senate, on its compliance with
the terms and conditions of the franchise and on its operations on or
before April 30 of the succeeding year.
Penalty Clause.
SEC. 18. Penalty Clause. – Any grantee
who tails to
submit the annual report to Congress shall be fined Five hundred pesos
(P500.00) per working day of noncompliance. The fine shall be collected
by the NTC from said delinquent franchise grantee separate from the
reportorial penalties imposed by the NTC. The collected funds shall
accrue to the monitoring fund of the NTC in line with its supervisory
and regulatory functions. The reportorial compliance certificate issued
by Congress shall be required before any application for permit or
certificate is accepted by the NTC.
Equality Clause.
SEC. 19. Equality Clause. – Any
advantage, favor,
privilege, exemption, or immunity granted under other existing
franchise, or which may hereafter be granted, upon prior review and
approval of Congress, shall 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
telecommunications franchises concerning territory covered by the
franchise, the life span of the franchise or the type of service
authorized by the franchise.
Separability Clause.
SEC. 20. Separability Clause. – If any
of the sections or
provisions of this Act is held invalid, all other provisions not
affected thereby shall remain valid.
Repeatability and Nonexclusivity Clause.
SEC. 21. Repeatability 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 privilege herein
provided for.
Publication.
SEC. 22. Publication. – This Act shall
be published,
through the initiative of the grantee, fifteen (15) days after this Act
is signed by the President of the Philippines or has lapsed into law.
Effectivity Clause.
SEC. 23. Effectivity Clause. – This Act
shall take effect
fifteen (15) days from the date of its publication in at least two (2)
newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.
Approved,
(Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE
President of the
Senate
(Sgd.)
FELICIANO BELMONTE
JR.
Speaker of the House
of Representatives
This Act which originated in the House of Representatives
was
finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on May 21,
2012 and September 17, 2012, respectively.
(Sgd.) EMMA
LIRIO-REYES
Secretary of the
Senate
(Sgd.) MARILYN B.
BARUA-YAP
Secretary General
House of Representatives
Approved: DEC 04 2012
(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO
III
President of the
Philippines
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
