Amendments to R.A. No. 808 Re: Franchise Grant to Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Co., Ltd.

June 17, 1967

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5002

AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED EIGHT HUNDRED EIGHT, ENTITLED "AN ACT GRANTING TO 'THE EASTERN EXTENSION AUSTRALASIA AND CHINA TELEGRAPH COMPANY LIMITED' AND ITS PERMITTED ASSIGNS, A FRANCHISE TO LAND, CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE AT MANILA IN THE PHILIPPINES A SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH CABLE CONNECTING MANILA WITH HONGKONG AND PRESCRIBING THE CONDITIONS OF THE SAME"

SECTION 1. Section one of Republic Act Numbered Eight hundred eight is hereby amended as follows:

"SEC. 1. There is hereby granted to 'The Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Ltd.' its successors and assigns, hereinafter referred to as the 'Grantee' a franchise to land, construct, maintain and operate telecommunication systems by cable, or any other means now known to science or which in the future may be developed for the reception and transmission of messages between any point in the Philippines to points exterior thereto, including airplanes, airships or vessels even though such airplanes, airships or vessels may be located within territorial limits of the Philippines."

SECTION 2. Section four of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4. The rates to be charged by the grantee for services provided through the aforesaid telecommunication systems shall be reasonable and shall be established in conformity with the provisions of the International Telecommunication Convention (MONTREAUX 1965) and of the Telephone Telegraph Regulations (GENEVA 1958) and any subsequent revisions thereof."

SECTION 3. Section six of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 6. The grantee is authorized to undertake the operations authorized under Section one at its own offices in the Philippines.

"For the convenience of the public, collection and delivery may also be effected by means of the telephone or other means conducive to the efficient handling of traffic."

SECTION 4. Section seven of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 7. The grantee shall keep a separate account of the gross earnings from its communication services originating in the Philippines and shall furnish to the General Auditing Office, or its successor a copy of such account not later than the thirty-first of January of each year for the preceding year. For the purpose of auditing accounts so rendered, all of the books and accounts of the grantee, or duplicate thereof, so far as they relate to services originating in the Philippines, shall be kept in the Philippines, and shall be kept in the Philippines, and shall be subject to the official inspection of the Auditor General or his authorized representatives, and the audit and approval of such accounts shall be final and conclusive evidence as to the amount of said gross earnings, except that the grantee shall have the right to appeal to court of the Philippines under the terms and conditions provided in the laws of the Philippines." acd

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 17, 1967

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 65, No. 9, p. 2055 on March 3, 1969