Marcos trumpets Maharlika but skips...

will not be able to send and receive calls, texts and lose access to e-wallets and other mobile applications linked to their SIM cards.

Critics of the SIM Card Registration Act or Republic Act 11934 previously cited concerns with its unconstitutionality, saying that mandatory SIM registration "restricts the constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of speech and violates the right against unreasonable searches and seizures and the right to substantive due process.”

The Supreme Court junked their request to temporarily stop the registration of SIM cards in April. (Cristina Chi/Philstar.com) as the financing arm of the government's agrarian reform and rural development initiatives. GFI funds not just government’s To recall, Marcos also described the function of Maharlika in similar terms during its signing on July 18. He said then that “instincts of any financial manager is that money must work for you. It must not sit in the bank and earning… an interest rate that is almost up to the level of the cost of money and that’s why we go in and out of these accounts.” Villanueva, however, said that not all funds in the GFIs belong to the government. “A significant portion of it belongs to government workers whose payroll are with the GFIs,” he explained. Africa said that if the government wants to generate more funding for its projects, it should begin with increasing tax revenues, which are "the best, most stable and most reliable source of government revenue." government a more substantial and diverse financial pool to draw from which can be used to fund ambitious projects, like Marcos’ infrastructure program. Sovereign wealth funds including the MIF are managed independently of the regular budgetary oversight and public scrutiny that traditional government expenditure faces. n

"If it wants to bankroll govt projects it should work harder on improving revenue generation with a more progressive tax system that makes those with the ability to pay more contribute more— meaning higher taxes on billionaire wealth, large corporations, and high-income families," he added.

Africa cited as an example the billionaire wealth tax proposal pending at the House of Representatives which is seen to give the government at least Php480 billion annually, "which is as much as the P500 billion the Maharlika fund is targeted to eventually manage."