File photo of Senator Joel Villanueva (Joseph B. Vidal/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines— The controversial Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill is being finalized at this time.
This is the update from Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Tuesday.
He expects the measure to be transmitted to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for signature within the week.
As of now, it is not yet an enrolled bill.
“Ang enrolled bill means, this is the bill already transmitted to Malacanang. So, it’s still with us. The ball is still with Senate office, (sa) Senate secretariat at pina-finalize po,” Villanueva said in an interview.
“(It’s) still in the process of cleaning up the bill, finalizing yung mga typographical errors and other clerical errors and to avoid inconsistencies,” he also said.
(It’s still in the process of cleaning up the bill. Typographical errors and other clerical errors are being finalized, and to avoid inconsistencies.)
One notable error in the bill is the conflicting provisions on the prescriptive period for crimes: Section 50 mandates a 10-year prescription while Section 51 sets it at 20 years.
Serious errors committed in approving Maharlika bill – Escudero
But according to Villanueva, this issue was already clarified by the author and sponsor of the bill, Senator Mark Villar.
Villar had written a letter to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to reiterate that the prescriptive period for crimes is 10 years, and not 20 years.
Once this and other mistakes are corrected, the final copy would be certified by the Senate Secretariat and the Secretary General of the House of Representatives.
After this, the Senate President and the House Speaker will sign the documents.
“It is not an amendment. It is more of doing the finishing touches,” Villanueva explained.
“At the end of the day, it has to reflect what was the essence of this particular provision. In this case, Section 50 and 51 that we’re talking about. So there’s no such thing as amending, deleting or adding to what the members of the Senate intend to pass during that particular committee and individual amendments na nangyari sa floor (that happened on the floor),” he said.
