Marcos certifies Maharlika fund bill as urgent

MANILA, Philippines —  The Senate yesterday received a letter from President Marcos certifying as urgent the creation of a Maharlika investment fund as urgent.

Malacañang’s letter dated May 22 and transmitted to the Senate seeks to expedite the passage of the bill, which is undergoing interpellation in the plenary on second reading.

Despite receiving the letter from Malacañang, however, the Senate suspended plenary debates on the measure and set its resumption on Monday.

In his letter to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Marcos said he certified the “necessity of the immediate enactment” of Senate Bill 2020.

The President cited inflation, fluctuating oil prices, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and interest rate hikes to vouch for the need of the country to set up a wealth fund to pump-prime the economy.

“(T)here is a compelling need for a sustainable national investment fund as a new growth catalyst to accelerate the implementation of strategic and high-impact large infrastructure projects that will stimulate economic activity and development,” he said.

The Maharlika Investment Corp. – with an initial capital fund from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Land Bank and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) – may invest in equities, joint ventures and real estate and infrastructure projects, as well as issue bonds, securities and debentures, according to the bill’s Senate version.

The bill said the allowable investment on real estate, however, is limited to major capital projects endorsed by the National Economic and Development Authority to ensure that it is aligned with the national government’s development goals.

While the investment corporation will be governed by a board of directors composed of the finance secretary, Landbank and DBP presidents and two regular directors, the posts of the three “independent directors” from the private sector may also be open to foreigners.

During interpellation, Sen. Mark Villar said foreigners from the private sector may sit in the board because of the absence of a citizenship provision for the independent director posts.

The bill sponsor also vouched for the provisions in the bill that provide checks and balances to the fund, including the creation of a joint congressional oversight committee to oversee its use, and a guarantee to the public to have freedom of information access to all documents.

“If you look at it from a whole-of-nation approach, there really is a need to pump-prime the economy. We’re coping with COVID-19. We have to look at the overall economic conditions of the country, which would require us to look for additional sources of revenue, especially in the field of infrastructure,” said Villar, a former public works secretary.

The Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill hurdled the House of Representatives in December last year also due to an urgent certification from the President.

‘Piggy bank’ for BBM?

As this developed, militant youth group Anakbayan warned the Filipino public that they would lose their hard-earned money with the Marcos administration’s push for the creation of the MIF, projected to be passed before the next State of the Nation Address in July.

Anakbayan said in a statement yesterday that the MIF is an ill-timed policy that will lead to large-scale corruption and further drive Filipinos into crisis should its investments fail.

“We see that the MIF will merely serve as a piggy bank for Marcos Jr. and his accomplices to systematize their own corruption,” it added.

The MIF’s  proposed seed capital will be P500 billion, far larger than the initial P75 billion. It will also include pension funds from the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System and Pag-IBIG Fund, according to the militant youth group.

Amid an economic crisis marked by high prices of goods and low wages, Anakbayan said the government plans to put public funds that could be used to improve social services and ensure people’s welfare into investments that have no guarantee of any benefit for the people.

“Filipinos cannot afford to have their money sloppily used for investments whose benefits won’t reach them,” Anakbayan added.

The group challenged the government to forgo plans for the MIF if it is truly concerned about the people’s welfare. –  Emmanuel Tupas