In March 2020, IBC announced the suspension of telecasting their selected regular programs, due to then-President Rodrigo Duterte implementing an enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and Luzon in line with the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. The network regularly airs the PCOO-produced briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines called Public Briefing: #LagingHandaPH. In May 2020, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar announced that the network will be used for airing educational television programs by the Department of Education's DepEd TV programming block on analog free-to-air television. The test broadcasts aired from August 11 until 21, 2020 and again from September 21 until September 25, 2020. Official broadcasts formally started on October 5, 2020, the starting date of classes in public schools throughout the country. However on June 2, 2022, DepEd TV stopped broadcasting on the network following the end of the school year. On December 2, 2021, Presidential Communications Operations Office, IBC and TAP Digital Media Ventures Corporation announced a deal with the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) for IBC to air its games (2021 MPBL Invitational only, as the television coverage was transferred to One PH for the 2022-23 MPBL season). On March 18, 2022, IBC began to transmit its digital test broadcast on UHF Channel 17 (491.143 MHz) as its permanent frequency assigned by NTC. However, on September 1, 2022, the management of IBC announced that it would possibly cease its operations in 2023 despite their ongoing efforts to improve its programming, citing various reasons including financial difficulties. Retaining employees and the management of the said station demanded that the government give their funds which were supposed to be allocated for them in order to continue its television operations, and to finally give it to the retired employees and staff who were never paid since 2009 up to this day. Department of Budget and Management has alloted 187,189,000 pesos from the 2023 National Budget for the network based on the General Appropriations Act of 2023 to continue its broadcast operations and to give the employees' their salaries. On the other hand, the legislative franchise of the network will going to expire in September 2025. Programming IBC stations nationwide See also List of Philippine media companies Philippine television networks Television channels People's Television Network Philippine Broadcasting Service Radio Philippines Network References External links Companies based in Quezon City Entertainment companies established in 1960 Filipino-language television stations Mass media