With zero budget for 2023, closure looms for IBC-13

MANILA, Philippines — The fate of the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. is bleak as the government-owned network may close down by January 2023 should Congress fail to provide it funding.

This was revealed by Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles at the House appropriations panel’s hearing on the proposed 2023 budget of the Office of the Press Secretary, where IBC-13 is an attached agency.

“Kung hindi po malagyan ang IBC, mawawalan po ng trabaho ang ating workers and by January closed operations na po tayo,” Angeles said, without specifying how many workers might be affected by the potential closure of IBC-13.

(If IBC is not funded, our workers would lose their jobs and we would close operations by January.)

Angeles said that the life of IBC-13 may extend up to July 2023, but that depends on whether the Department of Education can settle its P75 million debt to the network.

She said IBC-13 was not given funding as it is up for privatization. The problem, however, is that the market value of the TV station is below the P1 billion required by law for it to be sold and its proceeds used to fund the improvement of another government-run channel, People’s Television Network Inc.

“Hindi po makaka-raise at the current state ang ating IBC. Kailangan palakihin natin ang value niya, pero hindi natin magagawa ‘yan at this stage lalung-lalo na kung mag-force to close ang ating IBC,” she said.

(Our IBC would not be able to raise that money at its current state. We need to increase its value, but we won’t be able to do that at this stage especially if IBC is forced to close.)

For now, Angeles is appealing to Congress to infuse IBC with fresh funding while her office petitions the Governance Commission for Government Owned and Controlled Corporations to lift the privatization status of the network to allow programs to be funded.

“It (IBC-13) has great potential. It has helped the DepEd (Department of Education) during the course of the pandemic. And we want to continue with the educational, culture related programs which help out our Department of Tourism,” Angeles said.

“But we don’t want to sell it for parts, which is what is going to happen without the capital outlay, MOOE (maintenance and other operations expenses) or personnel services,” she said.