Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila
Seventeenth Congress
Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day

of July, two thousand eighteen.

Republic Act No. 11320

Congress of the Philippines
22 April 2019

An Act Renewing for Another Twenty-Five (25) Years the Franchise Granted to ABC Development
Corporation, Presently Known as TV5 Network, Inc., Under Republic Act No. 7831, Entitled “An
Act Granting ABC Development Corporation, Under Business Name ‘Associated Broadcasting
Company,’ a Franchise to Construct, Install, Operate and Maintain Radio and Television
Broadcasting Stations in the Philippines”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Nature and Scope of Franchise.— Subject to the provisions of the Constitution
and applicable laws, rules and regulations, the franchise granted under Republic Act No.
7831 to ABC Development Corporation, presently known as TV5 Network, Inc., hereunder
referred to as the grantee, its successors or assignees, to construct, install, establish,
operate and maintain for commercial purposes and in the public interest radio and/or
television broadcasting stations, including digital television system, through microwave,
satellite, terrestrial or whatever means, as well as the use of any new technologies in
television and radio systems, with the corresponding technological auxiliaries and facilities,
special broadcast and other program and distribution services and relay stations in the
Philippines, is hereby renewed for another twenty-five (25) years.

SECTION 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 privilege
to use its assigned wavelengths or frequencies and the quality of transmission or reception
thereon as should maximize rendition of the grantee’s services and/or the availability
thereof.

SECTION 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 or
facilities and shall not use any frequency in the radio and/or television spectrum without
authorization from the NTC. The NTC, however, shall not unreasonably withhold or delay
the grant of any such authority.

SECTION 4. Responsibility to the Public.— The grantee shall provide, free of charge,
adequate public service time which is reasonable and sufficient to enable the government,
through the broadcasting stations or facilities of the grantee, to reach the pertinent
populations or portions thereof, on important public issues and relay important public
announcements and warnings concerning public emergencies and calamities, as necessity,
urgency or law may require; provide at all times sound and balanced programming; promote
public participation; assist in the functions of public information and education; conform to
the ethics of honest enterprise; promote audience sensibility and empowerment including
closed captioning; and not use its stations or facilities for the broadcasting of obscene or
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.

Public service time referred herein shall be equivalent to a maximum aggregate of ten
percent (10%) of the paid commercials or advertisements which shall be allocated based on
need to the Executive and Legislative branches, the Judiciary, Constitutional Commissions
and international humanitarian organizations duly recognized by statutes: Provided, That
the NTC shall increase the public service time in case of extreme emergency or calamity.
The NTC shall issue rules and regulations for this purpose, the effectivity of which shall
commence upon applicability with other similarly situated broadcast network franchise
holders.

SECTION 5. Right of the Government.— 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 any time after due process.

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 these shall be so operated.

SECTION 6. Term of Franchise.— This franchise shall be in effect for a period of twenty-
five (25) years from the effectivity of this Act, unless sooner revoked or cancelled. This
franchise shall be deemed ipso facto revoked in the event the grantee fails to operate
continuously for two (2) years.

SECTION 7. Self-regulation by and Undertaking of the 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 or incite treason, rebellion or sedition; or the language used therein or
the theme thereof is indecent or immoral: Provided, further, That willful failure to do so shall
constitute a valid cause for the cancellation of this franchise.

SECTION 8. 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, liabilities, demands, or actions arising out of accidents causing injury to
persons or damage to properties, during the construction or operation of the stations of the
grantee.

SECTION 9. Commitment to Provide and Promote the Creation of Employment

Opportunities.— The grantee shall create employment opportunities and shall allow on-the-
job trainings in their franchise operation: Provided, That priority shall be accorded to the
residents in areas where any of its offices is located: Provided, further, That the grantee
shall comply with the applicable labor standards and allowance entitlement under existing
labor laws, rules and regulations and similar issuances: Provided, finally, That the
employment opportunities or jobs created shall be reflected in the General Information
Sheet to be submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) annually.

SECTION 10. Sale, Lease, Transfer, Grant of Usufruct, or Assignment of Franchise.— The
grantee shall not sell, lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, 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 transfer
the controlling interest of the grantee, simultaneously or contemporaneously, to any person,
firm, company, corporation, or entity without the prior approval of the Congress of the
Philippines. Congress shall be informed of any sale, lease, transfer, grant of usufruct, or
assignment of franchise or the rights and privileges acquired thereunder, or of the merger or
transfer of the controlling interest of the grantee, within sixty (60) days after the completion
of the said transaction. Failure to report to Congress such change of ownership shall render
the franchise ipso facto revoked. 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 11. 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 percent (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: Provided, That in cases where public offer
of shares is not applicable, the grantee shall apply other methods of encouraging public
participation by citizens and corporations operating public utilities as allowed by law.
Noncompliance therewith shall render the franchise ipso facto revoked.

SECTION 12. Reportorial Requirement.— During the term of its franchise, 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 every year.

The annual report shall include an update on the roll-out, development, operation, or
expansion of business; audited financial statements; latest General Information Sheet
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 undertaking, if
applicable.

The reportorial compliance certificate issued by Congress shall be required before an

application for permit, certificate, or any equivalent thereof, is accepted by the NTC.

SECTION 13. Fine.— Failure of the grantee to submit the requisite annual report to
Congress shall be penalized by a fine of Five hundred pesos (₱500.00) per working day of
noncompliance. The fine shall be collected by the NTC from the delinquent franchise
grantee separate from the reportorial penalties imposed by the NTC and the same shall be
remitted to the National Treasury.

SECTION 14. Equality Clause.— Any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption, or immunity
granted under existing franchises, or which may hereafter be granted for radio and
television broadcasting, 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, That the foregoing shall neither apply to nor affect provisions of
broadcasting franchises concerning territorial coverage, the term, or the type of service
authorized under this franchise.

SECTION 15. 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.

SECTION 16. Separability Clause.— If any of the sections or provisions of this Act is held
invalid, all other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.

SECTION 17. Repealing Clause.— All laws, decrees, orders, resolutions, instructions, rules
and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SECTION 18. Effectivity.— This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,
(Sgd) (Sgd)
VICENTE C. SOTTO III GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Senate Speaker of the House of Representatives
This Act which originated in the House of Representatives was passed by the House of Representatives on
December 4, 2018, amended by the Senate of the Philippines on February 4, 2019, and which amendments
were concurred/kt by the House of Representatives on February 8, 2019.
(Sgd)
(Sgd)
DANTE ROBERTO P. MALING
MYRA MARIE D. VILLARICA
Acting Secretary General
Secretary of the Senate
House of Representatives
 (Sgd)
RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
President of the Philippines