Cignal TV, 4 other broadcast firms secure 25-year franchise

MANILA – President Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed several laws renewing the 25-year congressional franchise of five broadcast firms, including Cignal TV Inc.

Duterte on March 29 inked Republic Acts (RA) 11664, 11666, 11667, 11668, and 11669, respectively, extending the franchise of Franciscan Broadcasting Corp., Soundstream Broadcasting Corp., National Broadcasting Corp., Cignal TV Inc., and Real Radio Network Inc. for another 25 years.

Under the laws, the grantees are given the privilege to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain radio broadcasting stations anywhere in the country where frequencies or channels are still available for radio broadcasting.

They must secure from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) the appropriate permits and licenses for the construction and operation of their stations or facilities.

The NTC, on the other hand, must not “unreasonably” withhold or delay the granting of permits and licenses.

The laws give the NTC the authority to revoke or suspend, after due process, the permits or licenses of the grantee violating the provisions of the franchise.

The NTC may also recommend to Congress the revocation of the franchise.

The franchise will be deemed ipso facto (by the fact itself) revoked in the event the grantees fail to operate continuously for two years.

The laws mandate the broadcasting companies to provide free and adequate public service time which is reasonable and sufficient to enable the government, through the broadcasting stations or facilities, to reach the pertinent populations on important public issues and relay important public announcements and warnings concerning public emergencies and calamities, as necessity, urgency, or law may require.

Public service time shall be equivalent to a maximum aggregate of 10 percent of paid commercials or advertisements which shall be allocated based on the need of the executive and legislative branches, the judiciary, Constitutional commissions, and international humanitarian organizations.

Under the law, the Philippine president has the “special right” to temporarily take over and operate the grantees’ stations or facilities, “in times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order.”

The Philippine president can also suspend the operation of any station “in the interest of public safety, security, and public welfare.”

The grantees are prohibited from selling, leasing, transferring, granting, or assigning the franchise to any person, firm, company, corporation, or other commercial or legal entity.

They are also required to submit an annual report on their compliance with the terms and conditions of the franchise and its operations to Congress.

The annual report must include an update on the rollout, development, operation, or expansion of their business; audited financial statements; latest GIS officially submitted to the SEC, if applicable; certification of the NTC on the status of its permits and operations; and an update on the dispersal of ownership and undertaking, if applicable.

The reportorial compliance certificate issued by Congress will be required before any application for a permit or certificate is accepted by the NTC.

On March 29, Duterte also signed RA 11670 allowing the University of Southern Mindanao to construct, install, establish, operate, and maintain radio broadcasting stations in the province of Cotabato for educational and other related purposes and the public interest.

Duterte likewise signed RA 11665, authorizing the Iriga Telephone Company Inc. to construct, install, establish, operate, and maintain wired and wireless telecommunications systems, fiber optics, and all other telecommunication system technologies in the province of Camarines Sur and its cities for commercial purposes and in the public interest.

RA 11665 requires the Iriga Telephone Company Inc. to conform to the ethics of honest enterprise and not use its stations or facilities for obscene and indecent transmission, or dissemination of deliberately false information, willful misrepresentation, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.

It must also improve and extend its services in areas not yet served, and in hazard- and typhoon-prone areas that shall be determined by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, or its legal successor, in coordination with the NTC.

The charges and rates for telecommunications services of the Iriga Telephone Company Inc., except the rates and charges on those that may be declared or considered as nonregulated services, whether flat rates or measured rates or variations, will be subject to the NTC’s approval.

Malacañang released a copy of the laws on Thursday.