REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7293 - AN ACT
FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED SIX THOUSAND THIRTY, AS AMENDED
BY REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED SIX THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE, ENTITLED
"AN ACT GRANTING THE PILIPINO TELEPHONE CORPORATION A FRANCHISE TO
INSTALL, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN TELEPHONE SYSTEMS IN CERTAIN AREAS
THROUGHOUT THE PHILIPPINES," EXTENDING THE TERM OF ITS FRANCHISE TO
ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS FROM DATE OF ITS EXPIRATION, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
Section 1. Amendment to the Title of Republic Act No. 6030,
as Amended. — The title of Republic Act Numbered Six thousand thirty,
as amended by Republic Act Numbered Six thousand five hundred
thirty-one, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"An Act granting the Pilipino Telephone Corporation a franchise to
install, operate and maintain telecommunications systems and services
in and between provinces, cities and municipalities throughout the
Philippines and between the Philippines and other countries and
territories."
Sec. 2. Amendment to Section One. — Section 1 of
the same Act, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"Section 1. Subject to the conditions established in
this Act and the provisions of Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred
forty-six, as amended, and of the Constitution, applicable thereto,
there is hereby granted to the Pilipino Telephone Corporation,
hereinafter called the grantee, its successors or assigns, for a period
of twenty-five (25) years from the approval of this Act, the right,
privilege and authority to install, operate and maintain
telecommunications systems and services in and between provinces,
cities and municipalities throughout the Philippines and between the
Philippines and other countries and territories, as public interest may
warrant. The grantee is authorized to carry on the business of
transmitting and receiving messages, signals, conversations and
pictures by means of electricity, laser beams, microwave, or other
means now known to science or which in the future may be developed for
the transmission of telecommunications, conversations, messages,
pictures, and signals in and between the said provinces, cities and
municipalities, and connect systems of other countries and for the
purpose of operating said telephone systems and transmitting
telecommunications, messages, conversations, pictures, and signals by
means of electricity, laser beams, microwave, and other means now known
to science or which in the future may be developed; to construct,
maintain and operate and use all apparatus, conduits, appliances,
receivers, transmitters, antennas, balloons, satellites, and equipment
necessary for the transmission of messages, conversations, pictures and
signals by means of electricity, laser beams, microwave, and other
means now known to science or which in the future may be developed; to
erect poles, structures, string wires, build conduits, lay cables,
float balloons; to construct, maintain, and use such other approved and
generally accepted means of electrical, laser beams, microwave, and
other means, conduction in, on, over, or under the public roads,
government right-of-way, lands, bridges, rivers, streets, lanes and
sidewalks of provinces, cities, and municipalities, and overhead or
underground or submarine lines or on the surface of the ground or in
the atmosphere as may be necessary and best adapted to said
transmission and reception: provided, however, that all cables laid,
all poles erected and all conduits constructed or used by the grantee,
its successors or assigns, shall be located in places designated by
said grantee, with the approval of the provincial or municipal board or
council of the province, city or municipality concerned, and poles
shall be erected in a workmanlike manner to the satisfaction of the
said body: provided, further, that the poles erected, wires and cables
strung or conduits laid by virtue of this franchise shall be so placed
as not to impair the efficient and effective transmission of messages
and signals by any other company whose wires and cables are strung, or
whose conduits are actually laid at the time that the poles are to be
erected, wires and cables strung and conduits laid under and by virtue
of this franchise: provided, finally, that poles erected by the grantee
shall be of such a height of at least ten feet (10) above the level of
the ground providing a height of at least fifteen (15) in crossing
roads or streets and shall be so placed as not to be a danger to public
safety in accordance with a plan approved by the Secretary of
Transportation and Communications."
Sec. 3. Amendment to Section Sixteen. — Section 16
of the same Act, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as
follows:
"Sec. 16. The grantee or its successors may install,
maintain, operate, purchase, lease, or manage such telephone stations,
lines, cables or telecommunications systems and services as is or are,
convenient or necessary to carry out the purpose of this franchise and
for that purpose the grantee or its successors, for the duration of
this franchise, is hereby authorized to acquire, own, operate and
manage by management contract, purchase, merger, consolidation,
exchange of its shares of stock, telecommunications systems and
services now owned or may hereafter be owned by private persons, firms,
corporations, or partnerships, provinces, cities, municipalities and
government-owned or-controlled corporations which are all hereby given
full power and authority to do and perform any and all acts to effect
the authorized management, purchase, consolidation, merger, exchange of
shares of stock or other means of acquisitions of the
telecommunications systems and services respectively owned or operated
by them by the grantee under such terms and conditions as they and the
grantee may mutually agree upon: provided, however, that the grantee,
its successors or assigns, shall not, without the permission of the
National Telecommunications Commission first had, install, maintain,
manage, operate and purchase or lease such stations, lines cables or
telecommunications systems and services."
Sec. 4. Extension of Term of Franchise. — The term
of the franchise granted to the Pilipino Telephone Corporation as
herein amended is hereby extended, under the same terms and conditions
therein prescribed except as herein provided, for twenty-five (25)
years from August 3, 1994.
Sec. 5. Responsibility to the Public. — The
grantee shall supply telephone service in any municipality in the
Philippines where it has established a local telephone exchange to any
applicant therefore; and as between such applicant and other like
applicants, in the order of the date of their applications up to the
limit of the capacity of its telephone exchange as determined by the
National Telecommunications Commission in any application made by the
grantee for the construction of the relevant telecommunications
systems, and should the demand for the telephone service at any time
increase beyond the capacity of its local telephone exchange to supply
the same, the capacity of said telephone exchange shall be increased by
the grantee to meet such demand, in accordance with the decision of the
Commission: provided, that, in case the point at which the telephone
service to supplied is more than fifty meters (50) from the local
exchange operated by the grantee, the latter shall not be obliged to
furnish said service, unless the applicant for the telephone service
defrays the actual expenses for the installation of the
telecommunications apparatus necessary for such service and in such
cases the National Telecommunications Commission may extend the time
within which the grantee shall furnish such service.
For the purpose of installing, operating and maintaining its
telecommunications lines, it shall be lawful for the grantee to make
excavations or lay conduits in any of the public places, highways,
streets, lanes, alleys, avenues, sidewalks, and bridges of said
municipalities, forest reserves and other similar property of the
Government of the Philippines or any of its branches or
instrumentalities: provided, however, that any public place, highway,
street, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk or bridge disturbed, altered, or
changed by reason of the installation, operation and maintenance of
said telecommunications lines underground shall be repaired and
replaced in a workmanlike manner by the said grantee to the
satisfaction of the Department of Public Works and Highways. Should the
grantee, its successors or assigns, after the lapse of thirty (30) days
from receipt of notice from the proper authority, fail, refuse, or
neglect to repair or replace any part of a public place, road, highway,
street, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk or bridge altered, changed, or
disturbed by said grantee, then the Department of Public Works and
Highways shall have the right to have the same repaired and placed in
good order and condition at the cost and expense of the grantee.
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 whenever
required by the National Telecommunications Commission in the interest
of the public good and as far as practicable modify, improve or change
such stations, lines, cables, systems, and equipment to keep abreast
with the advances in science and technology.
Sec. 6. Tax Provisions. — The grantee shall be
liable to pay the same taxes on its real estate, buildings, and
personal property exclusive of this franchise as other persons or
corporations are now or hereafter may be required by law to pay. In
addition thereto, the grantee shall pay to the Bureau of Internal
Revenue each year, within thirty (30) days after the audit and approval
of the accounts, three per centum (3%) of all gross receipts of the
telephone or other telecommunications businesses transacted under this
franchise by the grantee, and the said percentage shall be in lieu of
all taxes on this franchise or earnings thereof: provided, that the
grantee shall continue to be liable for income taxes payable under
Title II of the National Internal Revenue Code pursuant to Sec. 2 of
Executive Order No. 72 unless the latter enactment is amended or
repealed, in which case the amendment or repeal be applicable thereto.
The grantee shall file the return with and pay the tax due thereon to
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or his duly authorized
representative in accordance with the National Internal Revenue Code
and the return shall be subject to audit by the Bureau of Internal
Revenue.
Sec. 7. Listing of Shares. — The grantee shall
list, subject to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange
Commission and the stock exchange concerned, and make a public offering
through the stock exchange of the shares representing at least thirty
per centum (30%) of its authorized capital stock in any securities
exchange in the Philippines within five (5) years from the effectivity
of this Act.
Sec. 8. Interconnection. — The grantee is hereby
authorized to connect its telecommunications systems installed,
operated and maintained by any other duly authorized person or entity
in the Philippines for the purpose of providing telecommunications
services to the public under such terms and conditions mutually agreed
upon by the parties. Provided, that the terms and conditions of such
interconnection shall be subject to the approval of the National
Telecommunications Commission: provided, further, that, if the parties
fail to agree within a period of ninety (90) days from the initial date
of interconnection proposal, any interconnection shall be made in
accordance with such terms and conditions mandated by the National
Telecommunications Commission.
Sec. 9. Warranty in Favor of National and Local
Government. — The grantee shall hold the national, provincial, city and
municipal governments harmless from all claims, accounts, demands or
actions arising out of accidents or injuries, whether to property or to
persons, caused by the installation and operation of the
telecommunications systems of the grantee.
SECTION 10. Rates for Services. — The rates to be
charged to the subscribers for telephone service and other
telecommunications services, whether flat rates or measured rates, are
subject to the approval of the National Telecommunications Commission.
SECTION 11. Sale, Lease, Transfer, Assignment,
Usufruct, etc. — The grantee shall not lease, transfer, grant the
usufruct of, sell or assign this franchise and the rights or privileges
acquired thereunder to any person, firm, company, corporation, or legal
entity, nor shall the controlling interest in the grantee be
transferred whether as a whole or in parts and whether simultaneously
or contemporaneously, to any such private person, firm, company,
corporation or entity without the prior approval of the Congress of the
Philippines.
Any person or entity to which this franchise is sold, transferred or
assigned shall be subject to all the conditions, terms, restrictions
and limitations of this Act.
The grantee may install, operate, maintain, purchase or lease such
telecommunications apparatus and systems as is or are convenient or
essential to efficiently carry out the purpose of this franchise:
Provided, that in such cases it has the permission of the National
Telecommunications Commission first had.
SECTION 12. Annual Report to Congress. — The grantee
shall file a detailed annual report to the Congress of the Philippines
with respect to its programs, operations and/or compliance with the
terms and conditions of the franchise.
SECTION 13. Right of Government. — The Government
shall have the privilege of using without compensation the poles of the
grantee to attach, install, operate and maintain wires of its telegraph
system: provided, however, that the Bureau of Posts shall have the
right to place additional crossarms and wires on the poles of the
grantee by paying a compensation, the rate of which is to be agreed
upon by the Postmaster General and the grantee: provided, further,
that, in case of disagreement as to the rate of contract rental, the
same shall be fixed by the National Telecommunications Commission.
Municipalities shall also have the privilege of using, without
compensation, the poles of the grantee to attach, install, operate and
maintain wires of local police and fire alarm system; but the wires of
such telegraph lines, police or fire alarm shall be placed and strung
in such manner as to cause no interference with or damage to the wires
or the telephone service of the grantee.
SECTION 14. Alteration or Repeal of Franchise. — This
franchise shall be subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by
Congress. All lands or right to use or occupy lands secured by the
virtue of this franchise shall revert upon its termination to the
national, provincial or municipal governments concerned which were the
owners thereof on the date of the granting of this franchise.
SECTION 15. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take
effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its publication in at least
two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.
* Lapsed into
law on March 27, 1992 without the President's signature in accordance
with Art. VI, Sec. 27(1) of the Constitution.
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