18 days too fast to pass Maharlika fund bill, says Hataman

Eighteen days are not enough for a crucial measure such as the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund, an opposition leader in the House of Representatives said on Friday.

House Deputy Minority Leader Mujiv Hataman of Basilan and Camarines Sur Representative Gabby Bordado made the remarks a day after the House of Representatives passed on final reading House Bill 6608, creating the sovereign wealth fund measure.

“All in all, from filing to final approval, it only took members of the House of Representatives 18 calendar days to give final approval to the Maharlika Investment Fund bill," Hataman said.

"Sa ganang akin, hindi ito sapat na panahon para pagtibayin ang panukala lalo na kung maraming tao at sektor ang nagpahayag ng pagtutol sa maraming probisyon nito," he added.

(In my opinion, this is not enough time to enhance the measure especially if many individuals and sectors have raised their opposition to many of its provisions.)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified the bill as urgent and paved the way for its passage on second and third readings on the same day Thursday.

Hataman said that the bill was filed on November 28, and was immediately referred to the House banks and financial intermediaries panel on the same day.

It was approved before the same committee on November 29 subject to consolidation by a technical working group.

The substitute bill was approved by the House banks and financial intermediaries on December 1.

The MIF bill was then approved by the House ways and means panel on December 5 in connection with its capacity to generate revenues for the government, while the House appropriations panel cleared it for funding on December 9.

The bill was sponsored and debated in the plenary on December 12 and was approved on the third and final reading on December 15.

Hataman said even officials of the administration, such as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla and Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, have expressed reservations over the Maharlika fund.

He said state-run financial institutions had been earning enough to fulfill their mandate with their present investment strategies.

“Do we really need this when these institutions are already earning profit? What can the MIF do that the government financial institutions and BSP cannot do individually?"Hataman said.

"Why risk the viability of these institutions with high returns that come with high risks? Do we even have a feasibility study to stand on that this will work?” he added.

Hataman said that it also remains to be seen if the Maharlika Investment Corporation Board would be made up of people with impeccable integrity and proven competence.

“Trust will be an important issue here. In short, we need more time to discuss the measure to answer all questions satisfactorily. It is my belief that the House of Representatives could have afforded more time to answer queries to the bill,” Hataman said.

“We should have invited and given voice to experts – economists, bankers, and financial analysts – to ask their own questions and to give a balanced analysis and impartial observations on the measure. Because even the economists are anxious about this. Let us not rush it since a huge amount of money is at stake,” he said.

Camarines Sur Representative Gabby Bordado backed Hataman, saying the Bureau of Treasury had reported that the Philippines’ national outstanding debt stood at P13.641 trillion as of October 2022 while inflation also hit a 14-year high of 8% in November.

“If we are to look at the current state of the Philippines’ economy, then we could surmise that none of these factors and numbers translate to 'wealth' and 'surplus'. Therefore, by its very definition, we do not meet the fundamental “requirement” in establishing a strong sovereign wealth fund: excess revenues,” Bordado said.

"While there has been a lot of changes in the proposed MIF Bill since its recent introduction, particularly on how the SWF would be initially funded, the Philippines cannot afford to take “our sparse resources” and gamble on the hope that the MIF would be profitable considering the current economic problems,” he added.

For Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte and House ways means and panel chairperson Joey Salceda who authored the measure, the fact that the bill set aside 25% of the MIF profits to social welfare projects and state subsidy for poor families, among other amendments, shows the government’s commitment to improving the lives of the people.

“At the Plenary, several interpellators, and numerous hours of session were devoted to informative debates and manifestations discussing lengthily the nature, scope, and benefits of the proposed measure," Romualdez said in a statement.

"We have increased the contributions of the profits of the Maharlika Investment Fund to the social welfare fund so that the government can utilize it to provide assistance to those who need it the most,” he added.

“The third reading version now creates an MIF that is significantly more transparent and accountable than the committee report. I am proud of the work of the Technical Working Group, which included recommendations from the minority,” Salceda added.

Salceda said the amendments included:

• an emphasis that the main objective of the fund was to promote economic development by making strategic and profitable investments in key sectors;
• the requirement that the board formulate ethical standards that the would cover the MIF;
• the removal of the power of the MIC to condone debts owed to it;
• the deletion of the provision allowing the BSP to invest part of its surplus;
• an explicit provision that pension funds cannot be used to invest in MIF
• a prohibition on investments in firms/entities with a record of commission of human rights violations, production of cluster munitions, nuclear arms; and
• increasing the number of independent members of the MIC Board to five out of 15, among others.

—NB, GMA Integrated News