MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang and legislative leaders on Monday identified 10 priority bills that Congress should aim to pass before it adjourns sine die on June 2, including the controversial measure that seeks to create the Maharlika Investment Fund.
The Maharlika fund, which the House of Representatives approved just 17 days after it was filed, was selected as one of the priority measures during the meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council in Malacañang.
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The proposal to create a sovereign wealth fund, which is typically capitalized with excess state revenue that the Philippines does not have, is currently pending before the Senate banks panel chaired by Sen. Mark Villar.
The committee of Villar, one of the authors of the bills in the Senate alongside Sen. Raffy Tulfo, is set to resume hearings on the measure on Wednesday.
While the LEDAC has identified the Maharlika fund as a priority which may grease the legislative mill and hasten its passage in the Senate, it is not a guarantee that it will be swiftly approved.
During the committee’s first hearing on the measure two weeks ago, senators raised concerns about investment gains and the proposed fund’s governance structure.
It also faces stiff opposition from the two-member Senate minority bloc, whose leader Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III vowed to block passage.
But the potency of the minority is in question given their lack of numbers in the chamber dominated by allies of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
This was seen when they tried and failed to pry the Maharlika fund from Villar’s panel and send it to the government corporations committee chaired by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.
CDC, VIP, mandatory ROTC
Another measure identified during the LEDAC meeting as a priority is the bill that seeks to create the Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) and the complementary proposal to establish the Virology Institute of the Philippines (VIP).
The bill creating the CDC, a technical authority on forecasting, analysis, strategy, and standards development for the prevention and control of all diseases of public health importance and health security events, reached the Senate plenary on Monday as Sen. Pia Cayetano sponsored the measure.
Bills establishing the VIP remain pending at the committee level in the Senate, while a similar proposal and the CDC bill has been passed by the House in December 2022 .
The LEDAC also identified the proposal to make the Reserve Officers Training Corps program mandatory again as a priority.
Like the VIP bills, mandatory ROTC is pending at the committee level, although the panel chaired by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa which is handling it is preparing to send it for plenary deliberations.
READ: Senators insist on mandatory ROTC despite lack of manpower for program
The House approved a bill making ROTC mandatory again in December 2022.
Other bills identified as LEDAC priorities are amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer law, the creation of the Medical Reserve Corps and the condonation of unpaid amortization and interests of loans of agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Also identified as priorities are the Internet Transactions Act, amendments to the law that fixed terms for Armed Forces officers and the Salt Industry Development Bill.