Creation of the Mass Media Council

November 2, 1972

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 36

CANCELLING FRANCHISES, PERMITS AND AUTHORIZATIONS GRANTED FOR THE OPERATION OF RADIO TELEVISION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES THAT HAVE REMAINED UNUSED BY THEIR HOLDERS AFTER A REASONABLE LENGTH OF TIME, THAT HAVE VIOLATED THE TERMS UNDER WHICH THEY WERE ISSUED; CREATING THE MASS MEDIA COUNCIL AND PRESCRIBING RULES AND REGULATIONS ON THE OPENING AND OPERATION OF MASS MEDIA

WHEREAS, the mass media have been used for the conspiracy against the Government and have taken part in that conspiracy either by direct willful participation, or by indirectly giving aid and comfort to the forces of insurgency and subversion seeking to overthrow the Government by organized violence:

WHEREAS, some franchises, permits and authorizations granted for the operation of radio, television and telecommunication facilities have remained unused or unavailed of by their proper holders after a reasonable length of time from the time such franchises, permits and authorizations have been issued; that some of them have been leased to parties not otherwise authorized to operate such facilities; and some of them, in the actual operation of these facilities, have violated or refused to comply with regulations of the Radio Control Board, or any other government authority having supervision over their operation;

WHEREAS, in order to safeguard the security of the state and promote the objectives and goals of sound government, it is necessary that judicious care be exercised in deciding what mass media facilities should be authorized to operate:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander in Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, do hereby decree and order: cd

1. The cancellation of all franchises, permits and authorizations of all mass media facilities that have consciously or unconsciously taken part in the conspiracy against the Government, given aid and comfort to the forces of insurgency and subversion and have either directly supported, or aided and abetted the subversion of our established traditions and value;

2. The cancellation of all franchises, permits and authorizations granted for the operation of radio, television and telecommunication facilities; (a) if such franchises, permits and authorizations have not been availed of or used by parties or parties on whose name they were issued, (b) if they have been given over for lease or use by parties not otherwise authorized to hold such franchises, permits and authorizations, or (c) if in their operation they have violated or failed to comply with the regulations of the Radio Control Board or any other government entity authorized to see the operation thereof. casia

3. The creation of a Mass Media Council, headed by the Secretary of Public Information as chairman, with the Secretary of National Defense as co-chairman, and one representative from the mass media to be appointed by the President as member, and with a secretariat to be headed by the Chairman of the Radio Control Board, with the duty of passing upon applications of mass media for permission to operate, so that no newspaper, magazine, periodical or publication of any kind, radio, television or telecommunications facility, station or network may so operate without obtaining from the Mass Media Council a certificate of authority shall be duly signed by the President, and shall be in force for six months, renewable for other six months thereafter, unless otherwise terminated earlier.

4. All mass media facilities shall guarantee space and time for information emanating from the Government, and shall allot, as the Secretary of Public Information may direct, adequate space and time for all national undertakings, projects and campaigns that require wide, public dissemination, and shall treat information pertaining thereto as public service material whether this be in the form of news matter, pictures, features, or the like, or in any promotional form. All radio and television stations and networks shall, under the guidance of the Department of Public Information, carry simultaneous regular broadcasts on agricultural production, consumers' prices index, general government and such other subjects of vital concern to the public. The print media shall carry the equivalent of these broadcasts. cdt

This decree is hereby made part of the laws of the land. It shall take effect immediately and shall remain in force for the duration of the present national emergency, or unless otherwise ordered by me or by my duly designated representative.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 2nd day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Two.