MAHARLIKA FUND: A MEANS TO ROB THE FILIPINOS

RICAH PAREJA

House Bill No. 6608 seeks to establish the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) as a sovereign wealth fund, but is it what it claims to be? Initially, sovereign wealth funds were state-owned and financed by the country’s reserves. The primary purpose of these investment funds is to promote economic development, stabilize the budget, and increase the country’s savings.

Co-authored by Sandro Marcos and Martin Romualdez, it originally will source its capital from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Development Bank of the Philippines, and Land Bank of the Philippines. Controversially, it will include pensions from the Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System.

A sovereign wealth fund sounds beneficial for the country’s economy, considering its status has immensely plummeted since the COVID pandemic. It makes it a suitable solution to increase and stabilize the financial sector of the Philippines. However, carefully assessing the proposed house bill presents a few loopholes. For one, is it what the country truly needs right now? Indeed, it serves what it claims to be, but an enormous amount required to fund MIF is too much Of a risk to take. Others may counter by saying, “Isn’t it what the Filipino wants? A proactive government?” Well, not necessarily. Currently, the Philippines faces more pertinent challenges, which funds should be allocated for - hospitals, education, and providing jobs for the people.

High risk means high reward. Recognizing this, the Philippines needs to be in the right place to take a high risk. To what funds should they use for the initial capital when the economy itself is burdened by trillions of government loans made by the previous administrations? Taking the catch would mean increasing the possibility of ballooning the indebted loans of the Philippines.

Diving deeper into this hot mess is the utilization of pensions by the Filipinos. Again, MIF is recognized as a high risk; therefore, there

OPINION — EDITORIAL

Is no clear reason for taking this position of robbing people of their retirement funds. The Filipinos worked and hustled their way to gain it, and the fact that the government can “steal” it in such a way clearly disrespects its citizens. Years of their investment will go down the drain for a mere state investment fund.

How can this happen? Well, 279 lawmakers voted affirmative, their present economic conditions. In the context of the Philippine government, it is much harder to support this bill as the family background of the current ruler of the country is rooted in corruption, abuse and deception. Blindly passing such a bill into law opens the country to the vulnerability of money swindling and corruption if selfish rulers are placed into high power.

To retaliate and defend the administration, then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stated that Bam Aquino already proposed the same investment fund. They were continuingan already started initiation of this house bill. Yet, Bam Aquino’s bill had sought an investment fund sourced from the General Appropriations Act. This act defines the annual expenditure program of the government for each of its programs and projects.

No matter the intention of government action, it will always