Transcript
Public Service Act
Joy C Belencio
Public Service Act Comm Act. 146, as amended
Definition of Public Service
◦ It includes every person who may own, operate, manage or control ◦ in the Philippines ◦ for hire or compensation, ◦ with general or limited clientele, ◦ whether permanent, occasional or accidental ◦ and done for general business purposes, ◦ any common carrier, railroad, street railway, subway motor vehicle, steamboat, or steamship line, ferries and water craft shipyard, ice-plant, electric light, heat power or any other public utility
Public Service Law
Public Service Public Utilities Mass Media Oil Industry Deregulation Power Industry
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
Requisites for issuance of CPC
Owned by Filipino Financial Ability and Profit Motive Public Necessity
EXEMPTION FROM THE PROVISIONS OF THE PRECEDING SECTION
Warehouses; Vehicles drawn by animals and bancas moved by oar or sail, and tugboats and lighters; Airships within the Philippines (except as regards to rates on freight and passengers;) Radio companies (except with respect to rates); National Government Operated or by any government-owned or controlled corporation, (except with respect to the fixing of rates.) Public Markets
Public Service Commission (PSC)
authorize and control the operation of a public utility suspend or revoke the certificate of public convenience issued, for cause and with proper hearing collect fees-both tax as well as regulatory [PLDT v PSC, 34 SCRA 609 (1970)]
Notice and Hearing Required
• Issuance of certificate of public convenience and certificate of public convenience and necessity. • Fixing rates, tolls and charges • Setting-up of just reasonable standard and classification. • Suspension, revocation, modification of certificate of public convenience and certificate of public convenience and necessity.
When Notice and Hearing NOT Required
Investigate any matter concerning public service Require any public service to furnish safe, adequate and proper service Appraise and value the property of any public Service Require any public service to properly keep books records and account and to make report on finances Require public service to comply with laws and ordinances
Replacement of PSC
Land Transportation Office and Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board
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Land transportation
Air transportation office
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governing air transportation
National Telecommunication Commission
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telecommunication
Replacement of PSC
Board of Energy (the power utilities Regulatory Board, now the and services regulatory Commission operation of National Electrification electric Administration companies National Water Resources Waterworks Council water Marine Industry Authority transportation
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MERALCO V COURT OF APPEALS
271 SCRA 417 (1997)
Regular courts, and not Board of Energy, have a proper jurisdiction over a case filed by a consumer seeking from MERALCO the showing how it arrived at the purchased power adjustment, to which information consumer of electricity are entitled under Revised Order 1 issued by the then PSC.
PUBLIC UTILITY
Is a business or service engage in regularly supplying the public with some commodity or service of public consequence such as electricity, gas, water, transportation, telephone or telegraph service.
Determinative characteristic of a public utility
◦ of service, or the readiness to serve, ◦ Public has a legal right to demand and receive its services or commodities
(JG Summit Holdings, Inc v Court of Appeals)
Public Utility
Citizens of the Philippines Corporations or associations organized under Philippine laws where 60% of the capital is owned by Filipino
Extent of Foreign Equity Participation
Shall be limited to their proportionate share in the capital, all the executive and managing officers of such corporations or associations must be citizens of the Philippines
Non-Exclusivity of Franchises
Shall not be exclusive in character or for a period longer than 50 years shall be subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the Congress when the common good so requires.
Non-Exclusivity of Franchises
Pilipino Telephone Corporation v NTC 410 SCRA 82 (2003)
Every franchise, certificate or authority to operate a public utility is by constitutional mandate, non exclusive.
Primary and Secondary Franchises
General or Primary franchise Special or Secondary franchise
Constitutional Prohibition Against Monopolies
Shipyard not a public utility
JG Summit Holdings v Court of Appeals 412 SCRA 10 (2003) Shipyard is a place of enclosure where ships are built or repaired It is not a public utility because while it offers its facilities to whoever may wish to avail its services, a shipyard is not legally obligated to render its service indiscriminately to the public
Refinement of Petroleum from Abroad
Bagatsing v Committee on Privatization 246 SCRA 334 (1995) The activities considered as public utility under Section 7 Reo Act 387 refer only to petroleum which is indigenous to the Philippines Hence, the refining of petroleum products sourced from abroad as is done by Petron, is not within the contemplation of the law
Regulation of Rate Charges by Public Utilities
fair return on the public utility upon the value of the property performing the service one that is reasonable to the public for services rendered.
Coverage of Term „Rates‟
Rate is defined as
◦ A charge, payment or price fixed according to a ratio, scale or standard ◦ an amount paid or charged for a good or service
Three major factors considered by the regulating agency (Republic v Meralco)
Rate of return
◦ This court has consistently adopted a 12% rate of rate of return for public utilities
Rate base The computed revenue to be earned by the public utility
Income Taxes Cannot be included in computation of Operating expenses for Public Utility
Republic v Meralco 391 SCRA 700 (2002) Issue: Is Meralco correct in including income tax payments a part of the expense for determining the base of the returns? Held: No, Income tax should not be included in the computation of operating expenses of a public utility, Since income tax paid by the public utility is not consistent with the nature of operating expenses
Government take over of Public Utilities
Mass Media
Is a medium of communication that is designed to reach the mass of the people and that tends to set the standards, ideals and aims of the masses
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)
determine what specific operating and technical requirement of “public convenience and necessity” authority to issue CPCN determine the areas of operation of applicants for telecommunication services
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)
GMA Network, Inc v ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp 470 SCRA 727 2005 Wrongful acts complained of and upon which the damages prayed for are based have to do with the operations and ownership of the cable companies These factual matters undoubtedly pertain to the NTC and not the regular courts
Coverage of “Telecommunications”
Telecommunication is
◦ any process ◦ Which enables a telecommunications entity to relay and receive ◦ Voice, data, electronic messages, ◦ Written or printed manner ◦ Fixed or moving pictures, words, music or visible or audible signal or any control signal of any design and for any purpose ◦ By wire, radio or other electromagnetic, spectral, optical or technological means (Sec 3 [a] R.A. 7925)
Coverage of “Telecommunications”
It covers the following areas
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Telephone service Inter-exchange carrier International carrier Value-added service provider Mobile radio services Radio paging services Radio-telephony system
Prohibition on CrossOwnership
No single franchise shall authorize an entity to engage in both telecommunications and broadcasting entities
Public Offerings Requirement
shall make bona fide public offering through the stock exchanges of at least 30% of aggregate common stock with the period of 5 years from its affectivity or the entity‟s first start of commercial operation, whichever date is later
Electronic Commerce Act 2000
Internet
Is a giant network which interconnects innumerable smaller groups of linked computer networks, which offers three broad types of service
◦ Electronic mail (email) ◦ Bulletin Board System (bbs) ◦ World wide web (www)
DOJ Opinion 40 series of 1998
Internet business does not fall within the coverage of the constitutional mandate limiting ownership and management of mass media to citizens of the Philippines or whollyowned and managed Philippine Corporations
Value-Added Services (VAS)
Value-added service provider
◦ An entity which relying on the transmission switching and local distribution facilities of the local exchange and inter-exchanged operators, and overseas carrier, offers enhanced services beyond those ordinarily provided for by such carriers VAS providers need not secure a franchise, provided that they do not put up their own network
Value-Added Services (VAS)
Globe telecom, Inc v NTC Issue: Public Telecommunications Act allows outsider to offer VAS without prior NTC clearance, whereas existing telecommunications entities require prior NTC clearance in order to offer VAS Held: to ensure that such VAS offerings are not cross-subsidized from the proceeds of their utility operations. There is an implicit recognition under PTA that VAS is not strictly a public service offering in the way that voice-to-voice lines are, but merely supplementary to the basic service
Value-Added Services (VAS)
Service Provider under the E-Commerce Act is defined as a provider of
◦ On-line services or network access ◦ Transmission, routing, or providing of connections for online communications, digital or otherwise, between or among points specified by user, of electronic documents of the user‟s choosing ◦ The necessary technical means by which electronic documents of an originator may be stored and made accessible to a designated third party
Value-Added Services (VAS)
BUT such service providers cannot
◦ Modify or alter content of electronic data message or electronic document received ◦ Make any entry therein or on behalf of the originator addressee or any third party unless specifically authorized to do so and who shall retain the electronic document in accordance with the specific request or as necessary for the purpose of performing the services it was engaged to perform
Broadcasting Industry
Broadcast
◦ transmit over-the-air commercial radio or television messages for the reception of a broad audience in a geographical area
Broadcasting
◦ Covers the transmission of and television programs that are intended for general public reception;
Cable Television Operations
Is a facility which receives television and radio signals by means of high antenna or by microwave transmission, amplifies them and distributes them by coaxial cables to the premise of its subscriber who pays a fee for the service
Cable TV
owned and managed by Filipino Citizens or corporations, cooperatives and associations, wholly-owned and managed by Filipino Citizens pursuant to the mandate of the Constitutions Regulated by NTC separately from Telecommunications and Broadcasting Carry Advertisements
Executive Order No. 436 (1997)
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Determination of rates Issuance of certificate of authority Establishment of areas and operations Examination and assessment of the legal , technical and financial qualification
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