DOJ Opinion No. 024, s. 1986

DOJ OPINION NO. 024 , s. 1986 2nd Indorsement February 17, 1986 Respectfully returned to the Vice-Chairman, Board of Investments, Makati, Metro Manila, his within request "for comments and recommendations" on the letter of the Director, Corporate and Legal Office, Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the application of the Seoul Daily News for a permit to establish a branch office in the Philippines. The letter upon which this Ministry is asked to comment cannot be found among the within papers. It purportedly requests for a permit/clearance to establish a branch office in the Philippines of Seoul Daily News ". . . to write and report about developmental status, news and informations about your highly respected country, people and government, for the benefit of our government and the Korean community." The following general observations are made in connection with the subject application in the light of Section 7 (1), Article XV of the Constitution, which reads: "The ownership and management of mass media shall be limited to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations wholly owned and managed by such citizens." If the said branch office will merely serve as operations center for its roving correspondent in the Philippines, it is believed that there is no constitutional impediment for such foreign publication to maintain such a branch office. The terms "mass media" in the Constitution refers to any medium of communication, a newspaper, radio, motion pictures, television, designed to reach the masses and that tends to set the standards, ideals and aims of the masses (Op. 163, s.1973). The distinctive features of any mass media undertaking is the dissemination of information and ideas to the public, or a portion thereof (Op. No. 120, s. 1982). The citizenship requirement is intended to prevent the use of such facility by aliens to influence public opinion to the detriment of the best interests of the nation (Quisumbing-Fernando, Constitutional Law, 1984 ed., p. 345). prcd The question apparently presented here is whether or not the establishment/operation in the Philippines of a branch office of a foreign newspaper publication, the manager of which will write and report about developments and information in the Philippines for the benefit of the Korean government and community, would constitute engaging in mass media within the meaning of the cited constitutional provision. As long as the Seoul Daily News is not for circulation/dissemination in the Philippines, the establishment of a branch office for its news correspondents would not fall within the purview of Section 7 (1) of Article XV of the Constitution, which refers to the operation or control of media of communication designed to reach the masses in the Philippines. Thus, it is worth noting that under the implementing rules of the Omnibus Investment Code, "collecting information in the Philippines" by "sending a roving correspondent to gather news" does not by itself constitute doing business in the Philippines (Sec. 1[9], Rule 1, Part I). It follows that if the publication is intended for dissemination in the Philippines, albeit to a limited community of Korean residents (See Op. No. 120, s. 1982), the undertaking is subject to the constitutional provision making mass media a completely nationalized activity. prcd Please be guided accordingly. (SGD.) ESTELITO P. MENDOZA Minister of Justice