Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 24) — Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman on Monday flagged the “re-engineered” version of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill, saying it only “aggravates the bill’s defects.”
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The lawmaker made the comment after fellow Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, who is part of the four-man panel which revised the proposed measure, said the “re-engineered” version of the MIF bill will drop the dividends from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as capital source. It will be funded instead by surpluses from government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) before it is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange and before the conduct of an initial public offering.
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“His proposal, which equals the re-engineered version, aggravates the defects in the MIF,” Lagman told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.
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“Traditionally and legally, revenues from the GOCCs as part of their annual net income, that would be used by the government in crafting and enacting general appropriations act,” he explained.
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Lagman said the revised bill should now be adopted by the House leadership before it is recommitted or its approval will be recalled. If the bill is not adopted, the proposal should be “put to rest as a futile attempt to further distort the bill.”
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Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri confirmed that Sen. Mark Villar filed the MIF bill in the Senate last week.
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Lagman said if there are no differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, there will be no bicameral conference meeting.
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He noted that the current Senate version of the MIF bill is “virtually identical” to the measure that the House passed, and the revisions proposed by Salceda are not yet reflected.
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The House approved the bill creating the MIF on its third and final reading last December after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified it as urgent.
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