Alan Cayetano to Senate leadership: Focus on more pressing matters instead of Maharlika Fund bill

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has appealed to the Senate leadership to focus on the country's more pressing issues rather than the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund Act.

He also reminded the Senate leaders to maintain their independence in tackling the proposed legislation.

Cayetano issued the statement on Thursday, as he disclosed the details of his letter addressed to the body through Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, in which he expressed his reservations about the MIF bill's passage.

The letter was inserted into the records on Wednesday, the same day when the upper chamber started deliberations on the MIF bill.

"My personal view is that we should have a sense of urgency and prioritize pressing issues that affect people’s daily lives—such as insufficient jobs available, low wages, inflation/high prices of basic commodities such as food and fuel, drugs, and peace and order—that need both short-term and long-term solutions," said the lawmaker in his letter.

Similar to the position of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, Cayetano said that the MMIF bill should have been referred to the committee on government corporations and public enterprises that handles proposed bills covering government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC), which he chairs, instead of the committee on banks, financial institutions, and currencies.

Last week, Pimentel's motion to refer the MIF bill to the committee on government corporations and public enterprises was rejected.

In explaining his stand, Cayetano said the MIF bill "would reveal an intention to create, first and foremost, the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC), a state investment body proposed to be responsible for the overall governance and management of the MIF. Thus, the creation and investment of the MIF are contingent on the establishment of the MIC."

He also argued that the creation of the MIC will eventually involve questions affecting GOCCs since the capitalization and funding of the MIF would come from other government corporations.

"These new provisions, if enacted into law, are not present in the charters of the GOCCs and would effectively amend the same. Based on the rules of the Senate, the GOCC committee has jurisdiction over all questions affecting GOCCs, including all amendments to their charters, the interests of the government in the different industrial and commercial enterprises, and privatization," he said.

"Such reasoning would result in the absurd situation wherein all bills creating government corporations would no longer be primarily referred to the committee on government corporations and public enterprises...When the law (or rule) is clear, there is no room for interpretation. This is basic!" added Cayetano.

But had it been referred to his panel, Cayetano said he would have tried to "find a consensus to be able to come up with the best possible legislation on the matter at hand."

In case an independent or an opposition senator "sits on the bill, sabotages it, or in any way delays hearing it," Cayetano said there are numerous remedies that the majority can avail of.

The proposed measure has been certified as urgent by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., allowing Congress to approve it on second and third reading on the same day.

On Thursday morning, Pimentel said the first hearing on the MIF bill revealed that the proposed legislation was "defective." —VAL/VBL, GMA Integrated News