AN ACT GRANTING THE PAMPANGA TELEPHONE COMPANY
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AN ACT GRANTING THE PAMPANGA TELEPHONE COMPANY
Republic Act No. 9133
April 24, 2001
Case Overview and Summary
Summary of Republic Act No. 9133Nature and Scope of Franchise (Section 1):
- Grants Pampanga Telephone Company, Inc. (the grantee) a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain local exchange network for commercial purposes and public interest in the municipalities of Macabebe and Masantol, Province of Pampanga.
- Allows the grantee to provide basic telephone service capable of accessing local, national, international and other networks.
Manner of Operation of Stations or Facilities (Section 2):
- The grantee's stations or facilities shall be constructed and operated in a manner that results in minimum interference on existing stations' wavelengths or frequencies.
- The grantee's operations and radiated power shall not exceed what is required to cover its allowed area of operation.
Authority of the National Telecommunications Commission (Section 3):
- The grantee shall secure a certificate of public convenience and necessity or appropriate permits and licenses from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for the location, construction, installation and operation of its telecommunications systems.
- The NTC has the power to impose conditions on the construction, operation, maintenance or service level of the telecommunications system.
- The NTC has the authority to regulate the construction and operation of the grantee's telecommunications systems.
- The grantee shall not use any frequency in the radio spectrum without authorization from the NTC.
- The NTC shall not unreasonably withhold or delay the grant of any such authority, permits or licenses.
Responsibility to the Public (Section 4):
- The grantee shall conform to the ethics of honest enterprise and shall not use its stations for obscene or indecent transmission, 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 Macabebe and Masantol without discrimination, in the order of applications, up to the capacity of its local telephone exchange.
- If demand exceeds capacity, the grantee shall increase capacity, unless the expansion is less than the smallest viable local exchange available, in which case the applicant shall defray the actual expenses for installation.
- The grantee shall operate and maintain all its stations, lines, cables, systems and equipment for transmission and reception in a satisfactory manner and modify or improve them to keep abreast with advances in science and technology.
Rates for Services (Section 5):
- The charges and rates for the grantee's telecommunications services, except those declared as non-regulated services, shall be subject to the approval of the NTC.
- The rates shall be unbundled, separable and distinct among the services offered.
- Regulated services shall not subsidize unregulated ones.
Right of Government (Section 6):
- The President of the Philippines has the special right, in times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster or disturbance of peace and order, to temporarily take over and operate the grantee's stations, transmitters, facilities or equipment, or to temporarily suspend their operation in the interest of public safety, security and welfare, or to authorize their temporary use by any government agency, upon due compensation to the grantee.
- The radio spectrum is a finite resource that is part of the national patrimony and its use is a privilege conferred by the State that may be withdrawn anytime, after due process.
Term of Franchise (Section 7):
- The franchise is for a term of twenty-five (25) years from the date of effectivity of this Act, unless sooner revoked or cancelled.
- The franchise shall be deemed ipso facto revoked if the grantee fails to:
(a) Commence operations within three (3) years from the approval of its operating permit or provisional authority by the NTC;
(b) Operate continuously for two (2) years; and
(c) Commence operations within five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act.
Acceptance and Compliance (Section 8):
- 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.
- Non-acceptance shall render the franchise void.
Bond (Section 9):
- The grantee shall file a bond issued in favor of the NTC, which shall determine the amount, to guarantee compliance with and fulfillment of the conditions under which this franchise is granted.
- If after five (5) years from the date of the approval of its permit by the NTC, the grantee shall have fulfilled the conditions, the bond shall be cancelled by the NTC.
- Otherwise, the bond shall be forfeited in favor of the government and the franchise ipso facto revoked.
Right of Interconnection (Section 10):
- The grantee is authorized to connect or demand connection of its telecommunications systems to any 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 mutually agreed upon terms and conditions in accordance with law.
Tax Provisions (Section 11):
- The grantee, its successors or assigns, shall be subject to the payment of all taxes, duties, fees or charges and other impositions under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended, and other applicable laws.
- Nothing herein shall be construed as repealing any specific tax exemptions, incentives or privileges granted under any relevant law.
- All rights, privileges, benefits and exemptions accorded to existing and future local exchange network franchises shall likewise be extended to the grantee.
- The grantee shall file the return with the city or province where its facility is located and pay the taxes due thereon to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or his duly authorized representatives in accordance with the NIRC and the return shall be subject to audit by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Gross Receipts (Section 12):
- 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 (31st) day of January of each year for the preceding twelve (12) months.
Books and Accounts (Section 13):
- The books and accounts of the grantee, its successors or assigns, shall always be open to the inspection of the Commissioner on Audit or his 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 National and Local Governments (Section 14):
- The grantee shall hold the national, provincial, city and municipal governments of the Philippines harmless 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, etc. (Section 15):
- 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.
Dispersal of Ownership (Section 16):
- 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 ten (10) years from the commencement of its operations.
- Non-compliance therewith shall render the franchise ipso facto revoked.
Equality Clause (Section 17):
- Any advantage, favor, privilege, exemption or immunity granted under existing franchises, or may hereafter be granted, shall ipso facto become part of previously granted telecommunications franchises and shall be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the grantees of such franchises.
- However, 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 (Section 18):
- If any of the sections or provisions of this Act is held invalid, all the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.
Repealability and Non-exclusivity Clause (Section 19):
- 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.
Reportorial Requirement (Section 20):
- The grantee shall submit an annual report to the Congress of the Philippines on its compliance with the terms and conditions of its franchise and on its operations within sixty (60) days from the end of every year.
Effectivity Clause (Section 21):
- This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its publication, upon the initiative of the grantee, in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.
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AN ACT GRANTING THE PAMPANGA TELEPHONE COMPANY
Republic Act No. 9133
•April 24, 2001
Republic of the PhilippinesCONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINESMetro Manila
Eleventh CongressThird Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-fourth day of July, two thousand.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9133 April 24, 2001
AN ACT GRANTING THE PAMPANGA TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC., A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, ESTABLISH, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN LOCAL EXCHANGE NETWORK IN THE MUNICIPALITIES OF MACABEBE AND MASANTOL, PROVINCE OF PAMPANGA
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, there is hereby granted to Pampanga Telephone Company, 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, local exchange network, including public calling stations or pay telephone stations or wireless local loop and their value-added services in the municipalities of Macabebe and Masantol, Province of Pampanga, and for such purpose provide basic telephone service capable...
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