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of the central bank such as tapping into the country’s foreign exchange buffer or gross international reserves (GIR) as possible source of funds for the MIF have been addressed.

He said the term “wealth” in the original name of the fund has been dropped.

“That was the basic objection to the term W (wealth) because the government is a net borrower, the country is a net borrower. So in other words, to invest, we must borrow,” Medalla said.

He added that the proposed fund should be made to make strategic investments such as buying back the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) as well as greenhouse gases to attract foreign investors.

“For instance, I think the privatization of transmission might have been a bad move. It’s too strategic and then of course selling it to the Chinese, from a security standpoint. Maybe it’s a good use for this fund to buy it back,” Medalla said.

Another concern of the BSP that has been addressed is the use of the funds of pension fund managers Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

“I think those issues are gone. So really the issues now are how we can improve the ability of this fund to increase investments in strategic areas and possibly, as in the case of Indonesia, attract foreign money,” Medalla added.

Based on legislative measures, the MIF will secure seed fund from state-run government financial institutions including Land Bank of the Philippines with P50 billion and Development Bank of the Philippines with P25 billion.

The BSP is expected to chip in P17 billion in the form of dividends, while the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., royalties and special assessments on natural resources and privatization are also seen to contribute an undetermined amount.

Medalla also said the Marcos administration is seriously looking for a highly competent individual to lead the management of the proposed fund.

Privatization

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said privatization would be a “more logical” way of raising capital for the MIF, as it would be “less controversial” than drawing funds from key financial instituions.

living in the state without authorization would likely have to come from state funds, and the costs could vary widely.

For instance, Colorado enrolled 10,000 such immigrants into a new insurance program designed solely for them at a cost of $57.8 million in state funds, said Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. The program covered the full cost of insurance for enrollees.

In Washington state, immigrants who lack legal status can take advantage of a state fund next year to help all income-eligible state residents pay for insurance, said Michael Marchand, chief marketing officer for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. State lawmakers have added $5 million to the fund for immigrants without legal authorization.

“It would serve as an incentive for additional undocumented immigration into our country,” said Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a think tank that advocated against Medi-Cal expansion to immigrants without legal standing. “And put taxpayers on the hook for additional government health care costs and the inevitable higher tax bills to pay for them.”

California officials have previously considered allowing all immigrants to buy insurance from its state-run program before, submitting a request to the federal government in 2016. But the state rescinded its application after President Donald Trump took office, given his anti-immigration rhetoric and policies.

The Biden administration in December approved an exception to federal law for Washington state — a game changer in the eyes of immigration advocates, said Rachel Linn Gish, a spokesperson for Health Access.

“Seeing what other states have done and the waivers that are happening under Biden, it makes a huge difference in our approach,” she said.

But even if lawmakers pass a plan to open California’s insurance marketplace to all immigrants regardless of status, advocates said the state will have to wait until Jan. 1, 2024, to ask the federal government for permission, and it could take half a year or longer to get a response.

That means it could be years before Becerril can get coverage. Instead, she’s preparing for the worst.

“I’m paying for funeral coverage,” she said. “It’s more economical than paying the health coverage premium.” (Rachel Bluth/ Kaiser Health News)

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation. n

“Privatization seems to be less controversial and more logical because the assets being sold now can be enjoyed by future generations by investing in infrastructure and other things. We must put that on the table for the body to study,” Gatchalian said at hearing of the Senate committee on banks and financial institutions on the MIF Bill on Monday, February 27.

The senator made the statement after Bankers Association of the Philippines president Antonio Moncupa Jr. explained that generating MIF capital from sources that contribute to government coffers could become problematic.

Gatchalian noted that the top three assets that the government was looking to privatize could yield up to P130 billion in capital for the MIF.

These assets are the government’s mining rights estimated at P100 billion, a land parcel at the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) in Taguig worth around P22 billion and the government’s Mile Long property in Makati estimated at P8 billion. (by Lawrence Agcaoili with reports from Paolo Romero/Philstar.com) n