WIXLIB

H. No. 5491public offl 0Congress uf lift p jtlxjipTnies( Efro ntla tgl{fecnflj Congress etonh guIar( csstonBegun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-seventhday of July, two thousand twenty.[REPUBLIC ACT NO.11512]AN ACT RENEWING FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FIVE (25)YEARS THE FRANCHISE GRANTED TO CRUZTELEPHONE COMPANY, INC. UNDER REPUBLIC ACTNO. 7961, ENTITLED “AN ACT GRANTING TO CRUZTELEPHONE COMPANY, INC. (CRUZTELCO), AFRANCHISE TO INSTALL, OPERATE, AND MAINTAINA TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM THROUGHOUTTHE PHILIPPINES”Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of thePhilippines in Congress assembled:Section l. Nature and Scope of Franchise. - Subject tothe provisions of the Constitution and applicable laws, rulesand regulations, the franchise granted to Cruz TelephoneCompany, Inc., hereunder referred to as the grantee, its successorsor assignees, to construct, install, establish, operate, and maintainfor commercial purposes and in the public interest, in the

Philippines anH between the Philippines and other countries andterritories, wire and/or wireless telecommunications systeminrliiHing mobile cellular, copper, fiber optics, satellite transmitand receive systems, switches and their value-added services suchas the transmission of voice, data, facsimile, control signs, audioand video, information services and aH other telecommunicationssystem technologies as are at present available or will be madeavailable through technological advances or innovations in thefuture; or construct, acquire, lease, and operate, or managetransmitting and receiving stations, lines, cables, or systems asare convenient or essential to efficiently carry out the purpose ofthis franchise, is hereby renewed for another twenty-five (25) yearsfrom the effectivity of this Act.Sec. 2. Manner of Operation of Stations or Facilities. The stations or facilities of the grantee shall be constructed andoperated in a manner as will, at most, result only in the minimuminterference on the wavelengths or frequencies of existing stationsor other stations which may be established by law, without inany way diminishing its own privilege to use its assignedwavelengths or frequencies and the quality of transmission orreception thereon as should maximize rendition of the grantee’sservices or the availability thereof.Sec. 3. Authority of the National TelecommunicationsCommission. - The grantee shall secure from the NationalTelecommunications Commission (NTC) a Certificate of PublicConvenience and Necessity or the appropriate permits and licensesfor the construction, installation and operation of itstelecommunications systems or facilities. In issuing the certificate,the NTC shall have the power to regulate and impose suchconditions relative to the construction, operation, maintenance,or service level of the telecommunications systems or facilities.Such certificate shall state the areas covered and the date thegrantee shall commence the service. The grantee shall not useany frequency in the radio spectrvun without authorization fromthe NTC. The NTC, however, shall not unreasonably withhold ordelay the grant of such authority, permit or license. Sec. 4. Excavation and Restoration Works. - For thepurpose of erecting and maintaining poles or other supports forsaid wires or other conductors for the purpose of laying andmaintaining underground wires, cables, or other conductors, it

shall be lawful for the grantee, its successors or assignees, withthe prior approval of the Department of Public Works andHighways (DPWH) or the local government unit (L6U) concerned,as may be appropriate, to make excavations or lay conduits inany of the public places, roads, highways, streets, lanes, alleys,avenues, sidewalks, or bridges of the province, cities, ormunicipalities: Provided, however, That a public place, road,highway, street, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk, or bridge disturbed,altered, or changed by reason of erection ofpoles or other supportsor the underground laying of wires, other conductors or condvdts,shall be repaired and replaced in workmanlike manner by saidgrantee, its successors or assignees, in accordance with thestandards set by the DPWH or the LGU concerned. Should thegrantee, its successors or assignees, after the ten (10)-day noticefrom the said authority, fad, refuse, or neglect to repair or replaceany part ofpublic place, road, highway, street, lane, alley, avenue,sidewalk, or bridge altered, changed or disturbed by the saidgrantee, its successors or assignees, then the DPWH or the LGUconcerned shall have the right to have the same repaired andplaced in good order and condition, and charge the grantee, itssuccessors or assignees at double the amount of the costs andexpenses for such repair or replacement.Sec. 6. Responsibility to the Public. - The grantee shallconform to the ethics of honest enterprise and not use its stationsor facilities for obscene or indecent transmission, or fordissemination of deliberately false information, or wdlfulmisrepresentation, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.The grantee shall operate and maintain all its stations,lines, cables, systems, and equipment for the transmission andreception of messages, signals, and pulses in a satisfactorymanner at aU 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 andtechnology.The grantee shall improve and extend its services in areasnot yet served, and in hazard- and typhoon-prone areas that shallbe determined by the National Disaster Risk Reduction andManagement Coundl, or its legal successor, in coordination withtheNTC.

The grantee shall also improve and upgrade its equipment,facilities and services, in order to ensvire effective compliance withthe objectives of Republic Act No. 10639 or “The Free MobileDisaster Alerts Act”.Sec. 6. Rates for Services. - The charges and rates fortelecommunications services of the grantee, except the rates andcharges on those that may hereafter be declared or considered asnonregulated services, whether flat rates or measured rates orvariation thereof, shall be subject to the approval of the NTC orits legal successor.Sec. 7. Right of Government. — The radio spectrum is afinite resource that is part of the national patrimony and the usethereof is a privilege conferred upon the grantee by the State andmay be withdrawn any time after due process.A special right is hereby reserved to the President of thePhilippines, in times of war, rebellion, pubHc peril, calamity,emergency, disaster, or disturbance of peace and order: totemporarily take over and operate the stations, transmitters,facilities, or equipment of the grantee; to temporarily suspendthe operation of any station, transmitter, facility, or equipmentin the interest of public safety, security, and public welfare; or toauthorize the temporary use and operation thereof by any agencyof the government, upon due compensation to the grantee for theuse of the stations, transmitters, facilities, or equipment duringthe period when these shall be so operated.Sec. 8. Term of Franchise. - This franchise shall beextended and in effect for a period of twenty-five (25) years fromthe date of the effectivity of this Act, unless sooner revoked orcancelled. This franchise shall be deemed ipso facto revoked inthe event the grantee fails to operate continuously for two (2)years.Sec. 9. Right of Interconnection. — The grantee ishereby authorized to connect or demand connection of itstelecommunications systems to other telecommunications systemsinstalled, operated, and maintained by any other ddly authorizedperson or entity in the Philippines for the purpose of providingextended and improved telecommunications services to the public.

under the terms and conditions mutually agreed upon by theparties concerned. This right shall be subject to review andmodification by the NTC.Sec. 10. Mobile Number Portability. - The grantee shallprovide mobile nxunher portability (MNP) and its implementingmechanism, and shall interconnect, directly or indirectly, withthe infrastructure, facilities, systems, or equipment of othertelecommxmications fi*anchise grantees. It shall not install networkfeatures, functions, or capabilities that will impede theimplementation of a nationwide MNP system. The NTC shallissue rules and regulations for this purpose, the effectivity of whichshall commence upon applicability with other telecommunicationsfranchise grantees.Sec. 11. Warranty in Favor of the National and LocalGovernments. - The grantee shall hold the national, provincial,city, and municipal governments of the Philippines free from allclaims, liabilities, accounts, demands, or actions arising out ofaccidents causing injury to persons or damage to properties, duringthe construction or operation of the stations, transmitters,facilities, or equipment of the grantee.Sec. 12. Sale, Lease, Transfer, Grant of Usufruct, orAssignment of Franchise. - The grantee shall not sell, lease,transfer, grant the usufruct of, nor assign this franchise or therights and privileges acquired thereunder to any person, firm,company, corporation, or other commercial or legal entity, normerge with any other corporation or entity, nor the controllinginterest' of the grantee be transferred, simxiltaneously orcontemporaneously, to any person, firm, company, corporation,or entity without the prior approval of the Congress of thePhilippines. Congress shall be informed of any sale, lease,transfer, grant of usufhict, or assignment of franchise or therights and privileges acquired thereimder, or of the merger ortransfer of the controlling interest of the grantee, within sixty(60) days after the completion of the said transaction. Failure toreport to Congress such change of ownership shall render thefiranchise ipso facto revoked. Any person or entiiy to which thisfranchise is sold, transferred, or assigned shall be subject to thesame conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of this Act.