Bill extending TV5 franchise to be transmitted to Palace

THE BILL extending the franchise granted to ABC Development Corp., currently known as TV5 Network, Inc., for another 25 years will soon be transmitted to the Office of the President.

The House of Representatives concurred with the Senate amendments, eliminating the need to convene a bicameral conference committee.

The bill is being prepared for the signature of the Congress leaders before it is transmitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte for enactment.

“No need to convene a bicam. Last I heard was that the bill was in the process of enrollment after which it’d be transmitted to the President for his signature,” Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus D. Romualdo, who wrote the bill, said in a phone message on Monday.

The network primarily broadcasts sports and news programs, through ESPN 5 and News 5. Its franchise was first granted in December 1994, under Republic Act No. 7831, and is set to expire on December 8, 2019.

If enacted, TV5 will be allowed to continue to “construct, install, operate, and maintain radio and television broadcasting stations in the Philippines.”

The Senate version, in particular, had included a provision requiring the grantee to inform Congress of “Any sale, lease, transfer, grant of usufruct, or assignment, of franchise or the rights and privileges acquired there under, or of the merger or transfer of the controlling interest,” which the House adopted.

The bill requires the network to provide the government with adequate public service time or a maximum aggregate of 10% of the paid commercials or advertisements.

The network is prohibited from broadcasting obscenity, indecent language, speech and the like, as well as deliberately disseminating false information. Broadcasting material that proposes or incites treason, rebellion or sedition will also be banned.

The bill also provides the President the right to temporarily take over and operate the network and its facilities; to temporarily suspend its operations in interest of public safety, security and public welfare; and to authorize the temporary use and operation of any government agency, in circumstances that involve “war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order.”

TV5 is required to conduct a public offering of at least 30% of its outstanding capital stock within five years from commencement of operations. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

https://www.bworldonline.com/bill-extending-tv5-franchise-to-be-transmitted-to-palace/