ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8590

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Republic Act No. 9046

Nature and Scope of Franchise (Section 1)
- Grants West Samar Telecommunications, Inc. (formerly Calbayog Telephone System) a franchise to construct, establish, install, maintain and operate local exchange network for commercial purposes and public interest.
- Covers the entire Island of Samar for public domestic telecommunications.
- Provides basic telephone service or other related means known to science or developed in the future.

Responsibility to the Public (Section 4)
- The grantee shall conform to ethics of honest enterprise and not use stations for obscene, indecent, false information, misrepresentation, or assist in subversive/treasonable acts. (Section 4)
- The grantee shall provide basic or enhanced telephone services in the entire Island of Samar without discrimination, in the order of applications, up to the capacity of its local telephone exchange. (Section 4)
- If demand exceeds capacity, the grantee shall increase capacity, unless the cost of expansion is less than the smallest viable local exchange, in which case applicants must defray actual installation expenses. (Section 4)
- The grantee shall operate and maintain all stations, lines, cables, systems and equipment in a satisfactory manner and modify/improve them to keep up with advances in science and technology. (Section 4)

Assignment/Transfer of Franchise (Section 3)
- The franchise granted to Calbayog Telephone System under Republic Act No. 8590 is assigned/transferred to West Samar Telecommunications, Inc.

Effectivity (Section 4)
- 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, upon the initiative of the grantee.