SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT | Congress approved TV5 franchise months before it expired last year

May 11, 2020 , 02:27 PM

MAY 11, 2020 — The 25-year legislative franchise of ABC Development Corporation, mother company of broadcast network TV5, was passed into law months before it expired last year, the broadcaster’s former president said.

In a Facebook post, Ray C. Espinosa, now the head of the country’s largest power distributor, said the franchise lapsed into law in April 2019 after President Rodrigo Duterte failed to sign the measure.

“For the record, TV5’s legislative franchise was renewed before its original legislative franchise expired,” said Espinosa.

Congress approved the franchise renewal in February, way ahead of the December 2019 expiration, said Espinosa who was still president of Mediaquest Holdings, Inc. at that time.

In a social media post, he shared a copy of Republic Act 11320 which sought to renew the franchise of the network for another 25 years to clear speculations about the network’s franchise.

Based on the constitution, any legislative measure sent to the president for signature becomes a law 30 days after the chief executive fails to sign it into law or veto its approval.

GMA network had a similar case, but the president signed its franchise approval before it expired.

This is completely different from the case of ABS-CBN. Its franchise renewal was not approved by Congress even if it filed an application in 2014.

Last week, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) handed down a “cease and desist” order to the Lopez-family controlled ABS-CBN effectively shutting down its operations.

“ABS-CBN no longer has a valid and subsisting congressional franchise,” the NTC said.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the regulator was pressured by Solicitor-General Jose Calida to shut down the network despite a letter from Congress to grant ABS-CBN a provisional license to operate until such time its franchise application is resolve.

Congress has reminded the NTC it has the sole authority to grant franchises to broadcast networks before the NTC grants a secondary license. (Nicole Dacanay / MM)

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Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
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To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
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Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
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- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
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Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.