Republic Act No. 2985

There is hereby granted to the Manila Chronicle, its successors or assigns, a temporary permit to construct, maintain and operate in the Philippines, at Manila and at such places as the said company may select, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, private fixed point-to-point and land based and land mobile radio stations for the reception and transmission of wireless messages on radiotelegraphy or radiotelephony, each station to be provided with a radio transmitting apparatus and a radio receiving apparatus.

This temporary permit shall continue to be in force during the time that the Government has not established similar service at the places selected by the grantee, and is granted upon the express condition that the same shall be void unless the construction or installation of said stations be begun within one year from the date of approval of this Act and be completed within two years from said date.

The grantee, its successors or assigns, shall not engage in domestic business of telecommunications in the Philippines without further special assent of the Congress of the Philippines, it being understood that the purpose of this temporary permit is to secure to the grantee the right to construct, install, maintain, and operate private fixed point-to-point and land based and land mobile radio stations at such places within the Philippines as the interest of the grantee may justify.

No fees shall be charged by the grantee as the radio stations that may be established by virtue of this Act shall engage in communications regarding the grantees business only.

The grantee, its successors or assigns, shall so construct and operate its radio stations as not to interfere with the operation of other radio stations maintained and operated in the Philippines.

The grantee, its successors or assigns, shall hold the national, provincial, city and municipal governments of the Philippines harmless from all claims, accounts, demands, or actions arising out of accidents or injuries, whether to property or to persons, caused by the construction or operation of its radio stations.

The grantee, its successors or assigns, shall be subject to the corporation laws of the Philippines now existing or hereafter enacted.

The grantee, its successors or assigns, is authorized to operate its private fixed point-to-point and land based and land mobile radio stations in the medium frequency, high frequency, and very high frequency that may be assigned to it by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications.

The grantee shall not lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, sell or assign this temporary permit, nor the rights or privileges acquired thereunder to any person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity, nor merge with any other person, company or corporation organized for the same purpose, without the approval of the Congress of the Philippines first had. Any corporation to which this temporary permit may be sold, transferred, or assigned, shall be subject to the corporation laws of the Philippines now existing or hereafter enacted, and any person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity to which this temporary permit is sold, transferred, or assigned shall be subject to all conditions, terms, restrictions and limitations of this temporary permit as fully and completely and to the same extent as if the temporary permit had been originally granted to the said person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity.

A special right is hereby reserved to the President of the Philippines in time of war, rebellion, public peril or other national emergency and when public safety requires, to cause the closing of the grantees radio station or stations or to authorize the use or possession thereof by any department of the Government without compensation to the grantee for the use of said stations during the continuance of the national emergency.

This temporary permit shall be subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the Congress of the Philippines when the public interest so requires, and shall not be interpreted as an exclusive grant of the privileges herein provided for.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.