Speaker wants Marcos to certify Maharlika fund bill as urgent

Speaker Martin Romualdez is optimistic President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will give the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill the push to become a law by certifying it as an urgent legislation.

According to a report by GMA Integrated News' Ivan Mayrina, Romualdez said the bill has the backing of at least two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives.

These lawmakers are willing to co-author the bill, said Romualdez, who is the principal author.

Marcos and Romualdez are in Brussels, Belgium for the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit.

House Bill 6608 seeks to maximize investible funds of state-run financial institutions through investments with the aim of increasing public funds.  It will be run by the MIF Corporation to be headed by the president, the bill said.

The measure is being deliberated in plenary and is being eyed to be passed on second reading before Congress goes on break this week.

The urgent certification from the president will allow the lawmakers to pass the bill on second and third reading on the same day, instead of waiting for the three-day gap.

Several lawmakers, however, have questioned the need for a corporation to pool funds for investments.  Some also want to institute strict safeguards to insulate the fund against misuse.—LDF, GMA Integrated News