NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CHILDRENS TELEVISION

IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS OF

R. A. NO. 8370
CHILDRENS TELEVISION ACT OF 1997


Pursuant to the authority of the National Council for Childrens
Television under Sec. 10 of R.A. No. 8370, otherwise known as the Childrens
Television Act of 1997, the following Rules and Regulations are hereby
promulgated:

CHAPTER I
DECLARATION OF POLICY

Sec. 1. Declaration of Policy - The State recognizes the vital role of the youth
in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral,
spiritual, intellectual and social well-being by enhancing their over-all
development, taking into account sectoral needs and conditions in the
development of educational, cultural and recreational policies and programs
addressed to them.

Likewise, the State recognizes the importance and impact of
broadcast media, particularly television programs, on the value formation
and intellectual development of children and must take steps to support and
protect childrens interests by providing television programs that reflect their
needs, concerns and interests without exploiting them.

The State recognizes broadcasting as a form of mass communication
guaranteed by the Constitution, the exercise of which is impressed with public
interest and imposes upon the broadcast industry the social responsibility of
ensuring that its activities serve the interest and welfare of the Filipino people.

CHAPTER II
MEANING OF TERMS

Sec. 2. Definition of Terms - The following terms shall mean:

a. Children All persons below eighteen (18) years of age;


b. Childrens Television refers to programs and other materials
broadcast on television that are specifically designed for viewing
by children;

c. Child-friendly Programs refer to programs which serve to further
their positive development and contain no elements that may
result in physical, mental and emotional harm to them. These
include various formats and genres that appeal to children and
that are made available for all ages from early childhood to
adolescence.

d. Child-Viewing Hours hours which are considered to be
appropriate for children to watch television, ideally 6AM to 9PM,
taking into account other activities which are necessary or
desirable for their balanced development, as may be determined
by the Council;

e. Act Republic Act No. 8370;

f. Council National Council for Childrens Television (NCCT);

g. Secretariat Secretariat of the NCCT; and

h. Fund National Endowment Fund for Childrens Television


CHAPTER III
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CHILDRENS TELEVISION


Sec. 3. Composition - The Council shall be composed of five (5) members
representing the following sectors:

a. Academe;
b. Broadcast Media;
c. Child Development Specialists;
d. Parents; and
e. Child-Focused Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) duly
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and
with membership preferably in all cities and provinces throughout
the country.

Sec. 4. Nomination Process for Council Members - Nominations for Members
of the Council shall be made by their respective organizations and the
Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), in consultation with the Advisory
Committee of the Council. Said nominations made by their respective
organizations and the CWC shall be submitted to the Council Secretariat,
which shall include them in the agenda of the upcoming Advisory Committee
meeting. Thereafter, the Council Secretariat shall prepare the Final List of
Nominees as approved by the Advisory Committee and submit it to the
Secretary of Education for endorsement to the President.

Sec. 5. Appointment of Council Members - Members of the Council shall be
appointed by the President. Their appointments shall be based on their
integrity, high degree of professionalism and having distinguished themselves
as authority in the promotion of childrens rights and responsible television
programming.

Sec. 6. Term of Council Members - The Members of the Council shall have a
term of three (3) years. The first appointees shall have the following terms:

a. two (2) members for three (3) years;
b. the other two (2) members for two (2) years; and
c. the remaining member for one (1) year.

They shall serve and continue to hold office until their successors shall
have been appointed and qualified. Should a member fail to complete
his/her term, the successor shall be appointed by the President for the
unexpired portion of the term.

The ranks, emoluments and allowances of the Council members shall
be in accordance with the Salary Standardization law and other applicable
laws.

Sec. 7. Chairperson - The Chairperson of the Council shall be elected by the
members from among themselves.

Sec. 8. Functions - The Council shall have the following functions:

a. To formulate and recommend plans, policies and priorities for government
and private sector (i.e. broadcasters, producers, advertisers) action
towards the development of high quality locally produced childrens
television programs to meet the developmental and informational needs
of children;

b. To promote and encourage the production and broadcasting of
developmentally-appropriate childrens television programs through the
administration of a National Endowment Fund for Childrens Television and
other necessary mechanisms as it may determine;

c. To monitor, review and classify childrens television programs and
advertisements aired during child-viewing hours, in order to take
appropriate action, such as disseminating information to the public and
bringing results to the attention of concerned agencies for appropriate
action;

To attain this function, the Council shall:
i. come up with its standards for childrens television programs;
ii. deputize representatives who will conduct the monitoring of childrens
television programs and advertisements;
iii. require television stations/networks and cable operators, through the
MTRCB, to furnish it with recordings of childrens television programs
and advertisements;
iv. publish the results of the review and monitoring of childrens television
programs and advertisements

d. To formulate, together with the television broadcast industry, a set of
standards for television programs shown during child-viewing hours and
work closely with the industry for the adoption and implementation of said
standards;

e. To conduct research for policy formulation and program development
and disseminate results to broadcasters, advertisers, parents and
educators on issues related to television and Filipino children;

f. To promote media education in general and television literacy in
particular within the formal school system and other non-formal means, in
cooperation with private organizations;

g. To monitor the implementation of the Act and its IRR and other existing
government policies and regulations pertaining to childrens broadcast
programs.

To enforce this function, the Council may require the television
stations/networks to submit reports or data on their childrens television
and child-friendly programs;

h. To recommend to and require the appropriate government agencies and
self-regulatory bodies concerned to impose the appropriate sanctions for
violations of the Act, its IRR and pertinent government policies and
regulations based on their respective mandates/charters;

i. To recommend to Congress appropriate legislative measures to grant
incentives for independent producers and broadcasters to encourage
the production of quality local childrens television programs;

j. To act and investigate motu propio or on reports of other government
agencies or offices or public complaints of violations of the Act, its IRR and
pertinent government policies and regulations, in accordance with its
own procedures, with the goal of protecting children from negative and
harmful influences;

k. To cause or initiate the prosecution of violators of the Act;

l. To perform all acts necessary or incidental to attain the objectives of the
Act; and

m. To perform the following miscellaneous functions:

i. to organize the Council Secretariat;
ii. to establish committees as may be necessary;
iii. to determine the staffing pattern of the Council Secretariat and the
qualifications, duties, responsibilities, functions and compensation of
the positions therein it created, subject to the National Compensation
and Classification Plan and other existing civil service rules and
regulations;
iv. to submit a Comprehensive Media Program on television literacy for
Children to Congress;
v. to prescribe an appropriate set of criteria for evaluating programs with
the end of establishing a Television Violence Rating Code;
vi. to administer the National Endowment Fund for Childrens Television;
vii. to accept grants, contributions or donations from private corporations
and international donors for same fund;
viii. to submit the annual proposed budget of the NCCT to the DBM;
and
ix. to enact rules consistent with the Act and its IRR.

Sec. 9. Supervision The NCCT, under the Executive Order No. 203, is
transferred to the Department of Education as an attached agency, for the
purposes of administrative supervision.

Sec. 10. Meetings - Regular meetings of the Council shall be held quarterly or
more often, as the Council may decide. Special meetings of the Council shall
be called anytime by any of its members.

Sec. 11. Quorum Majority of the Members of the Council shall constitute a
quorum.
CHAPTER IV
THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Sec. 13. Composition The Members of the Advisory Committee shall be:

a. The Executive Director of the Council for the Welfare of Children
(CWC) ;
b. The Chairperson or Executive Director of the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCCA);
c. The President of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas
(KBP);
d. The President or Executive Director of the Philippine Association of
National Advertisers (PANA);
e. The Press Undersecretary/OIC of the Philippine Information Agency
(PIA);
f. The Chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and
Classification Board (MTRCB); and
g. A representative of the National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC).

Sec. 14. Functions The Advisory Committee shall have the following
functions:

a. Assist the Council in the formulation of national policies pertaining
to childrens broadcast programs and in the monitoring of the
implementation of said policies;

b. Be consulted by the concerned organizations and the CWC in their
nominations for Council Members; and

c. Be consulted by the Council in the preparation of a
Comprehensive Media Program for Children for submission to
Congress.


Sec. 15. Representative During Meetings - Whenever any member of the
Advisory Committee is unable to attend, he / she shall designate a
representative to attend in his behalf.

Sec. 16. Meeting with the Council. The Advisory Committee shall meet with
the Council at least once every quarter of the year.

CHAPTER V
THE COUNCIL SECRETARIAT

Sec. 17. Composition The Council shall organize a Secretariat which shall be
headed by an Executive Director with a Staff composed of not more than
twenty (20) personnel as may be determined by the Council. The Council
shall determine the Secretariats staffing pattern, determine the qualifications,
duties, responsibilities and functions as well as compensation for the positions
to be created by the Council subject to the National Compensation and
Classification Plan and other existing Civil Service rules and regulations.

Sec. 18. Appointment of Executive Director and Staff The Council shall
appoint the Executive Director and the members of the Secretariat.

Sec. 19. Functions of the Council Secretariat The Council Secretariat shall
have the following functions:

a. Execute the programs and policies proposed by the Council;
b. Conduct meetings, prepare communications and keep records of
the Council and the Committee;
c. Safeguard the property of the NCCT;
d. Undertake the proper coordination with other government
agencies/offices and the private sector;
e. Prepare the annual budget of the NCCT and other required
reports/plans and data; and
f. Perform acts as may be required by the Council and the
Committee.

Sec. 20. Functions of the Executive Director The Executive Director shall
have the following functions:

a. Oversee and manage day to day operations of the Secretariat
b. Recommend to the Council the Secretariats staffing pattern and
the qualifications, duties/responsibilities/functions and
compensation for the positions created by the former;

c. Enter into any contract and other instruments as may be authorized
by the Council.

d. Perform other functions and duties as may be assigned from time to
time by the Council.


CHAPTER VI
THE COMPREHENSIVE MEDIA PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN

Sec. 21. Submission of Comprehensive Media Program for Children - Within
one (1) year from the effectivity of the Act, the Council, in consultation with
the Advisory Committee, shall submit to Congress a Comprehensive Media
Program, with the end in view of the following:

a. To formulate policies on media programs that affect children
directly or indirectly; and,
b. To recommend plans and priorities for government towards the
promotion, development, production and broadcasting, on free TV
and on cable channels, of developmentally-appropriate media
programs for children, particularly during the hours between 6 AM
and 9 PM .

CHAPTER VII
THE TELEVISION VIOLENCE RATING CODE

Sec. 22. Prescription for a Television Violence Rating Code In coordination
with the MTRCB, the Council shall prescribe an appropriate set of criteria for
evaluating programs that takes into consideration the sensibilities of children
with the end in view of establishing a Television Content Rating System on Sex,
Violence and other abuses on children.



CHAPTER VIII
THE CHARTER OF CHILDRENS TELEVISION

Sec. 23. The Charter of Childrens Television - For the above Comprehensive
Media Program for Children and Television Violence Rating Code, the Council
may consider internationally-accepted programs of action for childrens
television. More particularly, it shall be guided by the following standards
herein known as The Charter of Childrens Television:

a. Children should have high quality programs, which are made
specifically for them and which do not exploit them. These
programs, in addition to being entertaining, should allow children to
develop physically, mentally and socially to their fullest potential;

b. Children should hear, see and express themselves and their culture,
languages and life experiences through television programs, which
affirm their sense of self, community and place;

c. Childrens programs should promote an awareness and
appreciation of other cultures in parallel with the childs own
cultural background;

d. Childrens programs should be wide-ranging in genre and content,
but should not include gratuitous scenes of violence and sex;

e. Childrens programs should be aired during regular time slots when
children are available to view and distributed through widely
accessible media or technologies;

f. Sufficient funds must be made available to make these programs
conform to the highest possible standards; and

g. The government and production, distribution and funding
organizations should recognize both the importance and
vulnerability of indigenous childrens television and the steps to
support and protect it.

CHAPTER IX
AIRTIME FOR EDUCATIONAL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS

Sec. 24. Allotment of Airtime for Educational Childrens Programs A
minimum of fifteen percent (15 %) of the daily total air time of each
broadcasting network shall be allotted for child-friendly programs within the
regular programming of all networks, as part of the networks responsibility of
serving the public. This shall serve as a condition for the grant of a Broadcast
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN)/Provisional Authority
(PA)/franchise/license or for the renewal of any thereof with the NTC.


CHAPTER X
THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FUND FOR CHILDRENS TELEVISION

Sec. 25. Creation of the National Endowment Fund for Childrens Television
The National Endowment Fund for Childrens Television is created to promote
high standards of indigenous program development in childrens television
and media specifically intended for children. Specifically, it shall develop
and produce high quality television programs that are culturally-relevant and
developmentally-appropriate for children and to help develop media
programs that contribute to Filipino childrens awareness and appreciation for
their cultural identity, national heritage and social issues that will in turn help
them grow to be productive and nationalistic citizens.

Sec. 26. Sources of the Fund The Fund shall come from the grants,
contributions or donations from private corporations and international donors:
Provided, That such grants, contributions or donations shall be exempt from
donors tax: Provided, further, That such grants, contributions or donations
shall be used strictly for the Fund.

The amounts of thirty million pesos (P30,000,000) from the income of the
lotto operations of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and
another thirty million pesos (P30,000,000) from the gross income of the
Philippine Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) shall form part of the Fund.

Sec. 27. Administration of the Fund The Council shall administer the Fund.

Sec. 28. Access to the Fund The Council shall provide access to the Fund
through grants for qualified producers and organizations that the Council has
screened and deemed capable of producing high quality childrens
television programs. It shall prioritize independent producers and
organizations or institutions, including youth organizations, which do not have
access to the resources of a national, network but have a certified broadcast
partnership with television networks or independent producers.

Copyright for programs and products to be developed with assistance
from the Fund will be jointly owned by the Council and the producers.

CHAPTER XI
APPROPRIATIONS

Sec. 29. Appropriations The Council shall submit to the DBM its proposed
annual budget for inclusion in the General Appropriations Act.

CHAPTER XIII
OTHER PROVISIONS

Sec. 30. Separability Clause If any provision of the Act is declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the
other provisions thereof.

Sec. 31. Repealing Clause All laws, decrees, executive orders, presidential
proclamations, rules and regulations or parts thereof contrary to or
inconsistent with the provisions of the Act are repealed or modified
accordingly.

Sec. 32. Effectivity Clause These Implementing Rules and Regulations shall
take effect fifteen (15) days after their publication in at least two (2)
newspapers of general circulation.








Approved:

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CHILDRENS TELEVISION

MAG CRUZ HATOL
NCCT Chairman
Representative, Broadcast Media


CRISTINA LIM-YUSON, PhD LUIS P. GATMAITAN, MD
Representative Representative
Child-Focused NGOs Child Development Specialists

MA. LOURDES A. CARANDANG, PhD PROF. CARLA M. PACIS
Representative Representative
Parent Sector Academic Sector

15 June 2012
Manila, Philippines