Grant of Franchise to Evening News Publishing Co., Inc. (Radio Stations)

June 16, 1955

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1337

AN ACT GRANTING THE EVENING NEWS PUBLISHING CO., INC., A FRANCHISE TO ESTABLISH RADIO STATIONS FOR BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION

SECTION 1. Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the Evening News Publishing Co., Inc., is hereby granted a franchise which shall continue in force during the time that the Government has not established similar service at the places selected by the grantee, to construct, maintain and operate, for commercial purposes and in the public interest, radio broadcasting stations and stations for television in the Philippines: Provided, That this franchise shall be void unless the construction of at least one radio broadcasting station or one television station be begun within two years from the date of approval of this Act, and be completed within four years from said date: Provided, further, That the grantee shall provide adequate public service time to enable the Government, through the said radio broadcasting stations and stations for television, to reach the population on important public issues; shall assist in the functions of public information and education; shall conform to the ethics of honest enterprise; and shall not use its stations for the broadcasting and/or telecasting of obscene or indecent language, speech, act or scene, or for the dissemination of deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation, or to the detriment of the public health, or to incite, encourage, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.

SECTION 2. Such provisions of Act Numbered Thirty-eight hundred and forty-six, entitled "An Act providing for the regulation of radio stations and radio communications in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes"; Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-seven, known as the Radio Broadcasting Law; Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred and forty-six, known as the Public Service Act, and their amendments, as are applicable to radio broadcasting stations shall be applied, as far as practicable, to the television stations referred to in section one.

SECTION 3. The grantee shall file a bond in the amount of fifty thousand pesos to guaranty full compliance and fulfillment of the conditions under which this franchise is granted.

SECTION 4. In the event of any completing individual, partnership or corporation receiving from the Congress a similar franchise in which there shall be any term of terms more favorable than those herein granted or tending to place the herein grantee at any disadvantage, then such term or terms shall, ipso facto, become a part of the terms hereof and shall operate equally in favor of the grantee as in the case of said competing individual, partnership or corporation.

SECTION 5. (a) The grantee shall be liable to pay the same taxes on its real estate, buildings and personal property, exclusive of the franchise, as other persons or corporations are now or hereafter may be required by law to pay.

(b) The grantee shall further be liable to pay all other taxes that may be imposed by the National Internal Revenue Code by reason of this franchise.

SECTION 6. In the event the Government should desire to maintain and operate for itself any or all of the stations herein authorized, the grantee shall turn over such station or stations to the Government with all the serviceable equipment therein, at cost, less reasonable depreciation.

SECTION 7. The grantee shall not require any previous censorship of any speech, play, act or scene or other matter to be broadcast and/or telecast from its stations; but if any such speech, play, act or scene or other matter should constitute a violation of the law or infringement of a private right, the grantee shall be free from any liability, civil or criminal, for such speech, play, act or scene or other matter: Provided, That the grantee, during any broadcast and/or telecast, may cut off from the air the speech, play, act or scene or other matter being broadcast and/or telecast if the tendency thereof is to propose and/or incite treason, rebellion or sedition, or the language used therein or the theme thereof is indecent or immoral.

SECTION 8. The grantee shall not lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, sell or assign this franchise nor the rights and privileges acquired thereupon to any person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity, nor merge with any other company or corporation organized for the same purpose, without the previous approval of the Congress of the Philippines. Any corporation to which this franchise is sold, transferred or assigned, shall be subject to all the conditions, terms, restrictions and limitations of this franchise as fully and completely and to the same extent as if the franchise has been originally granted to the said person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 16, 1955

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 51, No. 8, p. 3884 in August 1955