Press Secretary Trixie Angeles-Cruz (Photo from a video posted on Facebook)
MANILA, Philippines — Without funding, IBC-13, a state-owned TV station, will have to shut down by January next year, according to Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles on Friday.
She said that none of the P1.2 billion allocated to the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) would be given to IBC-13.
“Humingi po kami sa personal services, MOOE [maintenance and other operating expenses] at capital outlay para maituloy natin ang pag-broadcast ng IBC pero na-zero po sila completely,” Angeles said Friday during the hearing of the House Appropriations Committee on the 2023 OPS budget.
(We asked for personal services, maintenance of equipment, and capital expenditures to keep IBC running, but they didn’t do anything.)
She went on to plead with the House committee to provide adequate funding for IBC-13, warning of potential consequences in the absence of such resources.
“Dito po, meron kaming kaunting apela. Kung hindi po malagyan ang IBC, mawawalan po ng trabaho ang ating mga worker and by January, close operations na po tayo,” Angeles noted.
(We have an appeal about this because if none of the funds are given to IBC, network workers will lose their jobs, and by January, it will cease operations.)
Because it was designated for privatization, she continued, IBC received no funding.
“Base doon sa batas, kailangan kapag na-privatize iyong IBC, maka-deliver siya ng at least P1 billion para sa modernization ng PTV natin. Hindi po makaka-raise at the current state ang ating IBC,” Angeles added.
(It is required by law that IBC deliver at least P1 billion for the modernization of PTV if it is privatized. This amount cannot be raised in the current state of IBC.)
For 2023, the OPS has allocated a little over P748 million to its attached agencies PTV, IBC, Apo Production Unit, National Printing Office, News and Information Bureau, and Bureau of Broadcast Services.
She said IBC received P73.689 million in the budget for 2022, a far cry from the zero it gets now.
READ: Palace press chief asks Congress to reconsider IBC-13 ‘zero budget’