Duterte extends franchise of telecom firms

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the renewal and granting of legislative franchises to three telecommunication companies in various parts of the country.

The Chief Executive signed Republic Act (RA) 11758 and RA 11757, granting a 25-year franchise extension to Sultan Kudarat Telephone System Inc. and Independent Telephone Company Inc., respectively.

He also enacted into law RA 11759 that allows Derecho Telecommunications to put up and maintain its telecommunications systems and services.

All were signed on April 29, 2022 but copies were released only on Thursday, May 19.

The new laws mandate the grantees to secure from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity or the appropriate permits and licenses for the construction, installation and operation of its telecommunications systems or facilities.

They must also seek approval from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) or the local government unit concerned should they erect, lay or maintain poles or other supports for wires or other conductors, and make excavations or lay conduits in any of the public places of the province, cities, or municipalities.

Said legislations also tasks the grantees the following:

– Conform to the ethics of honest enterprise and not use its stations or facilities for obscene or indecent transmission, or for dissemination of deliberately false information, or willful misrepresentation, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts;

– 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;

– Improve and extend its services in areas not yet served, and in hazard- and typhoon-prone areas that shall be determined by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, or its legal successor, in coordination with the NTC; and

– Improve and upgrade its equipment facilities and services, in order to ensure effective compliance with the objectives of the Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act.

All new laws likewise give the President the authority to temporarily take over and operate the stations, transmitters, facilities, or equipment of the grantees in times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order.