Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 26) — Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel on Thursday questioned the call of some lawmakers to immediately pass the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill amid issues surrounding the proposed measure.
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“We don’t even have a surplus, we don’t even have a new source of wealth, so why the rush? Uso daw. Hindi naman tayo dapat makiuso kung uso yan sa ibang bansa na may budget surplus. Wala po tayong budget surplus,” he told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
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[Translation: They say it’s the trend. We do not have to go with the trend if it’s a trend in countries that have a budget surplus. We do not have a budget surplus.]
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Certified as urgent by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the proposed Maharlika fund bill was swiftly approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading on Dec. 15, around two weeks after it was first proposed.
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The Maharlika fund will be used by the government to invest in key sectors like foreign currencies, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, commercial real estate, and infrastructure projects to help fund the country’s priority programs.
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While it was transmitted and received by the Senate on Dec. 19, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said a four-man panel was formed to “re-engineer” the bill.
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Its revised version will drop the dividends from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as a capital source. It will be funded instead by surpluses from government-owned and -controlled corporations before it is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange and before the conduct of an initial public offering, Salceda said.
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Pimentel said these revisions are not yet incorporated in the current Senate version.
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For the senator, this “re-engineering” is an indication that there is some confusion among the bill’s proponents as it further veers away from the initial version filed in the lower house.
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“This measure is not justified at all at this moment,” the senator said. “The proponents are very confused, so therefore we can do better things with the time of the Senate.”
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