MANILA, Philippines — Scrutinize the Maharlika fund bill carefully, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. urged the Senate on Monday as Congress resumed session
“My message to the Senate: Examine it closely so that we will have a good law. Examine it closely,” Marcos said, speaking in a mix of Filipino and English.
“Of course, it’s preferable to finish it as soon as possible. But it should not be rushed because every word that you put in the law is very important,” he went on. “For me, it’s more important to be right than to be quick. So we need to make it right. Everything takes too long. But we must get it, we have to get it right.”
Under the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund, the government will invest funds of P110 billion, which it will get from the Land Bank of the Philippines, the Development Bank of the Philippines, and from dividends of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Many raised concerns about the first version of the bill which proposed that funds be sourced from state-owned pension funds — the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System.
After a public outcry, lawmakers removed the two pension funds as sources of funds.
The House of Representatives has approved the bill on its third and final reading. The ball is now in the Senate’s court.