Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III (left) and Sen. Mark Villar. PHOTO/SENATE
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate minority bloc on Tuesday sought again to transfer the Maharlika Investment Fund bill from the chamber’s banks, financial institutions, and currencies committee – chaired by the proposed MIF’s sponsor Senator Mark Villar – to the government corporations and public enterprises panel.
During his “turno en contra” speech in plenary, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III sniped at the “grave procedural error” that the upper chamber committed when it referred the MIF bill to the Villar-led committee.
“We have to correct this as the process is as important as the substance,” he said.
Pimentel pointed out that the MIF bill is about the formation of a Maharlika Investment Corporation.
“Corporate concepts dominate the proposed bill. There is hardly any banking concept that is mentioned in the bill,” he explained.
Pimentel ended his speech by moving again to have the Senate Bill 2020, or the proposed MIF, recommitted to the government corporations and public enterprises panel.
This is not the first time Pimentel raised a motion to do so as he did the same when the MIF bills were referred to Villar’s committee on first reading.
Only two senators were then in favor of the motion. One had abstained, and 19 others opposed.
READ: Senators clash on panel referral of Maharlika Fund bills
Senator Francis Escudero pointed out that the period to reconsider the decision of plenary has lapsed.
Pimentel, however, said he is not seeking a reconsideration of the decision of the Senate.
“When we first tackled that on the floor, that was theoretical. Now, we see the bill before us. We’re discussing it,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri would need to rule on the point of order raised by Escudero on Pimentel’s motion.
After a brief suspension of the session, Zubiri said Escudero’s remarks are “well taken.”
“And to answer the manifestation or the request of Senator Koko to refer it back to the committee, the matter, for the record, has been previously acted upon and disposed of at that time. So, that is the ruling of the chair,” he said.
But Pimentel was not content with the ruling, which he then challenged.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who joins Pimentel in the minority, seconded the appeal on Zubiri’s ruling.
This prompted the Senate to vote on the matter.
But its results suffered the same ill fate as the minority bloc’s first-ever attempt to refer the MIF bill to, what it deemed, a more appropriate panel.
Only Pimentel and Hontiveros went against the tide as the 16 other lawmakers present on the floor voted in support of Zubiri’s ruling.
The Senate is poised to approve the contentious MIF bill – a priority measure of the Marcos administration – before Congress adjourns sine die by June 2.