Changing the words in MIF bill ‘behind closed doors’ is ‘tampering’ — Pimentel

by BEATRICE PINLAC Inquirer.net

MANILA — Changing the words in the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill “behind closed doors” is tantamount to “tampering” with the proposed measure, Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel said on Thursday, June 29.

This is the description given by Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel to the act performed by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr.

Pimentel on Thursday rebutted the assertion of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Zubiri had said there was “no sinister move to tamper with the measure.”

Pimentel, however, does not agree with him.

“What they did with Maharlika is not usual. It is tampering. They changed the wording, amounting to changing the substance. Behind closed doors,” Pimentel said in a message to INQUIRER.net.

“They changed the wording, amounting to changing the substance. Behind closed doors,” he stressed.

Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. earlier said the double provisions on the prescriptive period of crimes and offenses were addressed by merging Sections 50 and 51.

In doing so, Bantug had noted, the 20-year prescriptive period of Section 51 was dropped and 10 years of Section 50 was retained. No bicam was held Pimentel, a former Senate president, pointed out that in the legislative journey of Maharlika bill, Congress skipped an important step when it failed to conduct a bicameral conference committee.

He specified this was “the last opportunity to amend the differing versions of the House and the Senate.”

Pimentel questioned Zubiri’s argument when the latter cited examples of bills that had previously been corrected after they were ratified by Congress.

“In Senate President Zubiri’s examples, there were bicams held. Hence, there were amendments, because that’s the purpose of the bicam – to ‘harmonize’ differing versions,” the minority leader explained.

The senator said reconciling the Senate and House versions of a bill is done “with participation and agreement” of representatives from both chambers. The bicameral conference committee, then, submits its signed report to have it separately ratified in Senate and House during plenary, Pimentel stated.

“With Maharlika, there was no bicam. There was, therefore, no opportunity, no chance, no avenue to make any change in the Senate version approved on third and final reading,” he said.

“There was, therefore, no opportunity, no chance, no avenue to make any change in the Senate version approved on third and final reading,” he observed.

The minority lawmaker urged his colleagues: “We should give importance to the word ‘final.’ Compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges.”

After the Maharlika bill was approved by Senate in the wee hours of May 31, members of both chambers of Congress, including Zubiri and Pimentel, met at the Manila Golf and Country Club for what was deemed as a “prebicameral meeting.”

During the last Senate session before Congress adjourned sine die , Zubiri said the meeting turned out to merely be a “lunch break.”

The Senate President said this because the House had already decided to adopt the reconstructed Maharlika bill of the upper chamber.

The Maharlika bill seeks the creation of a wealth fund that government can supposedly use for investments.

The measure was certified urgent by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Marcos said he would immediately sign the bill into law once it reaches the Palace. Marcos, who had claimed the investment fund was his idea, said he would immediately sign the bill into law once it reaches the Palace. ■

Marcos asks businessmen to help strengthen MSMEs

by ALEXIS ROMERO Philstar.com

MANILA — President Marcos on Thursday, June 29 called on businesses to support efforts to strengthen micro, small, medium and nano enterprises in the country, citing their role in economic development and job creation.

With the fundamental changes in the global economy brought by the COVID pandemic, so the government is trying to create an ecosystem for startups Marcos said in his speech during the launch of the Cebuana Lhuillier Group of Companies’ Kanegosyo Center in Parañaque City.

He added that 99 percent of businesses in the Philippines are micro, small and medium enterprises and about 63 percent of the workforce are employed by the sector.

“So there is no way that, if we are trying to help the economy, if we are trying to transform the economy, that we do not attend to that enormous slice of our economy,” Marcos said.

“We are trying to help small businesses who have a good idea,” he added.

Marcos said the definition of small businesses now includes the nano enterprises or those that do not fall into any category of economic activity “because they’re way below the radar”

“And this is what ‘Kanegosyo’ and all the other programs that are hoping to assist our small businesses – that is what we are trying to achieve,” the president said.

“That is why, it is not something that is done just purely out of business instinct. It’s not something that is done just to earn profit. It is something that is done to help.”

Marcos reiterated that Filipinos prefer to work than rely on dole outs.

“The good basis that we have here in the Philippines is that only a few Filipinos are lazy. Most Filipinos want to work,” he said.

“And that’s what we build on. And this is what Kanegosyo and all the other programs that are hoping to assist our small businesses, that is what we are trying to achieve,” he added.

Marcos noted that the Philippines has a long tradition of taking in refugees. “In principle, we would like to help. We took in the Vietnam boat people. We took in the German Jews during the war. That’s the attitude of Filipinos,” he said. However, he also noted that the Afghans covered by the request are not classified as such and are “an entirely different class of person” who are being resettled in the U.S. or other places. Marcos clarified that the Philippines and the U.S. have not reached an agreement on the Afghans, who are in the last stage of their U.S. special immigration visa application.

“We are helpful. But again, we have to make sure that it is not something that will affect the lives of ordinary Filipinos,” the chief executive said. “That’s why I was a little surprised when I saw some of the news reports [on hosting the Afghan nationals]… There’s no deal.” So as far as Marcos is concerned, the two parties have to discuss the possibility that accommodating the Afghans would not proceed as planned.

“There are security issues. Of course, we have to be conscious of that. But there are even more difficult legal and logistical issues because if the plan as it stands runs exactly as it’s planned, then that’s good, we won’t have any problem,” said the president.

The thousands of Afghans reportedly worked for the U.S. government before the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan two years ago. Marcos underscored that even if the U.S. would cover for the expenses of the Afghan settlement in the Philippines, it is something Filipinos will have to handle.

“We’ll see if we can actually manage it… There’s still quite a few issues that we have to hammer out with the Americans,” he said.

Sen. Imee Marcos, the president’s sister, has questioned why the U.S. is eyeing to put the Afghans in the Philippines instead of the American mainland or countries closer to Afghanistan.

In a June 16 hearing, the senator invited security officials who expressed fears that accepting Afghan nationals poses a security risk due to possible retaliation from Taliban sympathizers.

Vice President Sara Duterte also expressed her opposition to the proposal, saying it could worsen the situation particularly in areas where local terrorists violate Philippine sovereignty.

But on Thursday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri told the “Kapihan sa Senado” forum that he favored the hosting of Afghan nationals who are fleeing their country in fear of reprisal for working with the U.S. government.

“I don’t know legal impediments to do this; but personally, we should do it. It’s the right humanitarian thing to do,” Zubiri said. “I respect their opinions [Philippine security officials]. But this is my personal opinion, not of the Senate’s, but as a member of the board of governors of the Red Cross.”

He also expressed confidence that the Afghans would only be staying in the Philippines – particularly confined in a residential complex built at the expense of the Americans – for two to three months during the processing of their immigration visas for the U.S.

Last Monday, June 26, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is studying whether the request is allowed under the country’s immigration laws.

On Thursday, DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano said their legal department is currently reviewing the request and is expected to issue a legal opinion on the matter.

Asked when the DOJ is expected to release this legal opinion, he replied:

“All I can say is that it’s undergoing the necessary research and due diligence that it’s supposed to and we will come out when… that is ready,” he added.

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez earlier said the government might be able to decide on the request by July 15. (Philstar.com)

Kanegosyo Center is an initiative of Cebuana Lhuillier, the country’s largest micro finance provider. It is a long-term partnership with the government that seeks to promote the development of MSMEs through comprehensive, curated offerings in resources and assistive interventions.

The center is an online, one-stop-system that provides access to micro loans, micro insurance bundles, savings account, micro investment and sales systems, expertise support through a mentorship program and assistance and guidance on government processing requirements.

In a statement, Jean Henri Lhuillier, president and chief executive officer of Cebuana Lhuililer, said Kanegosyo Center was conceived and finely tuned to address issues that continue to challenge the country’s MSME’s; from access to financing, market reach, ease of doing business, and coaching to provide the education and capacity building needed in growing their business. ■