Amendment to R.A. No. 8690 Re: Grant of Franchise to Santos Telephone Corporation, Inc. (Local Exchange Network)

April 24, 2001

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9132

AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8690, ENTITLED "AN ACT GRANTING THE SANTOS TELEPHONE CORPORATION, INC. A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, ESTABLISH, INSTALL, MAINTAIN AND OPERATE LOCAL EXCHANGE NETWORK IN THE MUNICIPALITIES OF CALAUAG, LOPEZ, TAGKAWAYAN, GUINAYANGAN, PROVINCE OF QUEZON; THE MUNICIPALITY OF STA. ELENA, PROVINCE OF CAMARINES NORTE; AND THE MUNICIPALITY OF MAJAYJAY, PROVINCE OF LAGUNA"

SECTION 1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 8690, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 1. Nature and Scope of Franchise. — Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and applicable laws, rules and regulations, there is hereby granted to the Santos Telephone Corporation, Inc., hereunder referred to as the grantee, its successors or assigns, a franchise to construct, establish, install, maintain and operate for commercial purposes and in the public interest, local exchange network, including public calling stations or pay telephone stations or wireless local loop and for such purposes provide basic telephone service or other means related to the foregoing now known to science or which in the future may be developed, in the Province of Quezon; the Municipality of Sta. Elena, Province of Camarines Norte; the municipalities of Del Gallego and Ragay, Province of Camarines Sur; and the Municipality of Majayjay, Province of Laguna, for public domestic telecommunications."

SECTION 2. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 8690, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4. Responsibility to the Public. — The grantee shall conform to the ethics of honest enterprise and shall not use its stations for obscene or indecent transmission or for 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 the Province of Quezon; the Municipality of Sta. Elena, Province of Camarines Norte; the municipalities of Del Gallego and Ragay, Province of Camarines Sur; and the Municipality of Majayjay, Province of Laguna, where it has an approved certificate of public convenience and necessity for the establishment, operation and maintenance of a local exchange service, without discrimination to any applicant therefor, in the order of the date of their applications, up to the limit of the capacity of its local telephone exchange, and should the demand for the telephone service at any time increase beyond the capacity thereof, the grantee shall increase the same to meet such demand: Provided, That in case the total demand to be satisfied by the expansion is less than the smallest viable local exchange available in the market as determined by the Commission, the grantee shall not be obliged to furnish said service, unless the applicant for telephone service defrays the actual expenses for the installation of the telecommunications apparatus necessary for such services and in such case, the Commission may extend the time within which the grantee shall furnish such service.

The grantee shall operate and maintain all its stations, lines, cables, systems and equipment for the transmission and reception of messages, signals and pulses in a satisfactory manner at all times, and as far as economical and practicable, modify, improve or change such stations, lines, cables, systems and equipment to keep abreast with the advances in science and technology." TaISDA

SECTION 3. Effectivity. — 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.

Approved: April 24, 2001

Published in The Manila Times and Manila Bulletin on May 8, 2001. Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 97 No. 18, 63 Supp., on April 30, 2001.