Minority bloc to reject Maharlika Fund bill

SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said the minority bloc will reject the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) as he insisted that the government has "no extra" wealth to support this endeavor.

The senator made the remark on Thursday in an online interview when asked whether he and Sen. Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros will support the proposed MIF measure. "We cannot defend the indefensible. We cannot justify what is unjustifiable. So, we do not need this law," Pimentel said, adding that the MIF bill contains unclear provisions, hence, defective."

He said the government has no compelling reason to set up the MIF because it does not have excess money to support it. "Kaya sintunado na yung batas (That's why the [proposed] law is out of tune)."

The senator said the "extra" funds in the Landbank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines cannot be used for MIF since these are already programmed for farmers loan assistance.

He also raised the competency of the people who will run the corporation that will handle the

Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel ManilaTimes.net file photo

MIF. He questioned why the proposed law grants power to the chairman of the said corporation to acquire loans on behalf of the Filipino people to run the MIF.

"Posibleng maipamana pa natin yung utang (It is possible that we will pass on the debt [to future generations]," Pimentel said.

He cited the case of Norway whose sovereign wealth fund lost a record $164 billion as a result of war in Europe, high inflation, high interest rate, among others.

"Those are professionally-run funds which are very transparent. And look what happened. That is now the question of timing. The condition of the world economy is really bad," Pimentel said in Filipino and English.

Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero said he is open to the creation of the MIF but reiterated that the proposed legislation in its current form needs further amendments to address the "many gaps and loopholes."

The senator stressed this on Wednesday during the hearing on Senate Bill 1670, filed by Sen. Mark Villar, which proposes the establishment of the MIF to boost government resources.

He said the administration should not rush the Senate into passing its own version of the MIF bill.

House Bill 6608, authored by Speaker Martin Romualdez, was approved in the House of Representatives on December 15 last year after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. certified the proposal as urgent. Escudero questioned several provisions in the bill, saying that unless they are addressed immediately by the administration's economic team, its passage is bound to get delayed. (ManilaTimes.net)