New bill version ‘much better’ but Enrile cautions rushing its passage
Over 200 congressmen are supporting the bill seeking to create the Maharlika Investment Fund, two senior lawmakers said Tuesday, even as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to carefully review the bill creating the sovereign wealth fund.
Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo, one of the authors of the House Bill 6608, put the number of co-authors at 216, while Manila 5th District Rep. Irwin Tieng, chair of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries Chair, estimated the pro-Maharlika solons at 200.
But Enrile warned the President before he left for Belgium on Sunday that he may eventually be blamed should the MIF be abused, and said he was unsure of the direction of the proposed sovereign wealth fund, and whether it would receive funding even after Mr. Marcos’ six-year term.
“I told the President, Mr. President, let’s study it carefully because [the law will] be written during your time. But maybe your successor would not understand your good aspirations and squander the fund, then you would be blamed because you signed the law,” Enrile said in Filipino.
The former Senate President said he is not against the proposed MIF but noted that he wanted to make sure that the creation of a sovereign wealth fund would not harm the President’s reputation.
Instead of creating the MIF, Enrile said it is “safer” to use funds from the P5.268-trillion proposed national budget for 2023.
“Why not take it from the general fund and let it be a responsibility of the government and tighten the responsibility of the directors?” he said.
Enrile said while he trusts Mr. Marcos’ current Cabinet members, he doubted if he could give the same trust for Cabinet members of the next administrations.
In the latest iteration of the proposed bill creating the MIF, its initial capitalization was cut by more than half to just P110 billion from P275 billion after the House dropped the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the national budget from its mandatory fund sources.
The President of the Philippines was also replaced by the Secretary of Finance as head of the MIF Corporation’s governing board.
On Monday, the House committee on banks chaired by Tieng approved a provision on jail time for those who will violate the bill’s stipulations. It also approved reverting the name to MIF from the previous Maharlika Wealth Fund or MWF.
House Bill 6398, introduced on Nov. 28, seeks to establish a Philippine sovereign wealth fund patterned after successful sovereign wealth funds all over the world.
On Tuesday, Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Northern Samar Rep. Paul Daza gave credit to House leaders for addressing all his concerns about the proposed sovereign wealth fund.
He said the current version of the bill was “a much, much better version” than the original because House leaders listened to their colleagues, the public and stakeholders.
Daza said he intended to vote “yes” to the measure once it is considered for second reading.
“I think it’s something that I can support,” he said.
Tieng said the sovereign fund measure has undergone multiple revisions and has around 200 authors already.
“Based on the advice of my committee secretary, it is around 200. The last time I checked, it was 80… but as of yesterday, it was around 200,” he said in an ANC interview.
Responding to criticisms from retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio and economist Solita “Winnie” Monsod that the MIF should not be pursued because the Philippines does not have surplus funds, Tieng said it is within the mandate of state-run financial institutions to invest their investible funds.
“They are investible funds. We will not say they are surplus funds, but they are investible funds. It can be called an investment fund. It is the money of the Filipino people,” he said.
Daza’s top concerns regarding the original bill was the designation of pension agencies GSIS and SSS as fund sources for the MIF, as well as the naming of the President as the chairman of the board of the would-be Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC).
“Two weeks ago, when I voiced out my concerns and in fact my objections on some of the provisions, it appears… all my concerns have been addressed,” Daza said.
Tieng said he understands the concerns of Enrile and they always take into consideration his comments.
He added they will await Enrile’s comments and suggestions, and they will discuss it in the plenary.
Under the bill, the MIF will be sourced from the investible funds of the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (P50 billion), Development Bank of the Philippines (P25 billion), and the dividends and profits of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Quimbo, the House appropriations panel senior vice chairperson and one of the authors of the bill, also said the MIF should be given a chance to mobilize huge amounts of funds to achieve progress.
“We really need to look for ways to help government financial institutions earn so we would have additional public funds. We just passed our budget, and it is frustrating that P5.268 trillion is really not enough,” she said.
Quimbo said there is still a huge unmet funding requirement for social services such as government subsidy, hospitals, education, airports, bridges, and flood control projects.
“We really lack resources, and that is where the Maharlika fund initiative is coming from. If we don’t change our ways, it will be tough for our nation to modernize,” she said in Filipino. “We need a game changer to generate public funds in an exponential way.”
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said the MIF should be passed by the House on third and final reading by January 2023.
“We’re in the period of debate and discussion. With no glitches, the bill should be approved on second reading this Thursday. [The] target for third reading [approval] is by the end of January 2023,” Pimentel told CNN Philippines.