Senators Sherwin Gatchalian (left) and Francis “Chiz” Escudero. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS)
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate minority will try to get senators to turn against the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill, which is expected to be put to a vote on June 2 when Congress ends its first regular session.
So far, however, only Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Francis Escudero have questioned the provisions of Senate Bill No. 2020 creating the fund.
But both Gatchalian and Escudero only questioned the bill’s provisions and were noncommittal in joining opposition Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Risa Hontiveros to vote against SB 2020.
The House of Representatives passed its own version of the bill — House Bill No. 6398 — last December, but it differed significantly from the Senate bill under interpellation.
“The majority cannot accuse [the minority] of being obstructionists because we were cooperative in many of the bills that they previously approved,” Pimentel said in a radio interview.
“But this Maharlika bill is really a bad idea. It will not bring our country benefits, but pure misery,” he said, ahead of the vote on Friday.
Pimentel even questioned President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’a certification of the bill as urgent.
“We urge our colleagues not to obey the certification because this is contrary to the constitution, which mandates that a bill may be certified as urgent if it seeks to address a national emergency or a calamity,” he said.
He said the MIF does not pose any urgent concern because the country will only feel its purported effects five to 10 years after its establishment.
“We will reiterate our position that [the MIF] is not a sovereign wealth fund because the country does not have surplus wealth that it sets aside for future generations, neither can it be claimed as a state investment fund because of the presence of private interest,” he said.
“We all know that private businesses want to gain profits, so the MIF is nothing but a profit-earning scheme,” Pimentel added.
He also disclosed a “sneaky” provision in the Senate’s version of MIF, stating that while Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Development Bank of the Philippines are no longer required to put in funds for the MIF, they will be allowed to do so if approved by their boards.
“That is very dangerous because as we all know, members of the board of these banks are appointees of the president,” he said.
Pimentel said the government should involve all sectors to assure the widest acceptance of the Maharlika bill, and not limit discussions only to members of Congress.
“The idea is wrong. Everything that is being done to have it is also wrong,” Pimentel said.
The Senate leader cited how the government of Norway, which is often cited by the proponents of MIF as the “gold standard” of sovereign wealth funds, took 12 years to study the venture.
“Discussions involved the parliament, and the citizens were consulted. Its proponents did not rush the passage and resort to intimidation,” he said.