Senators on Maharlika passage: Haste makes waste

MANILA, Philippines — Senators yesterday said they prefer not be rushed when discussing the Mahalika Investment Fund (MIF) bill, certified as urgent by Malacañang, although one of them indicated there was no pressure from the executive department.

“Haste… as the saying goes, makes waste. This should serve as a warning to those pushing for it because it might just be struck down and end up in the dumpsters if they proceed with it in a haphazard and nonchalant manner,” Sen. Francis Escudero pointed out.

“The purpose and main reason and therefore direction and thrust of the Fund is still vague and nebulous,” Escudero said. “It is not clear even for those pushing for the bill, much less in the bill itself.”

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, however, made clear that there is no pressure on the Senate from the Palace to pass the MIF bill.

“Nothing,” Villanueva said when asked by The STAR whether there was such pressure to pass the MIF bill before Congress goes on break on June 2. “It’s just one of the priority measures,” he said.

“Looking at the priority measures, we did not prioritize the Maharlika, this is just the normal course and now the President is calling to pass the measure. We are here to heed,” he said.

Senators yesterday continued to discuss more amendments to the proposal to create an MIF that its authors said would promote economic development by making strategic and profitable investments in key sectors. Discussions continued as of press time.

Prior to the 3 p.m. regular session, the Senate majority bloc held a caucus for about an hour presided over by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Villanueva shared with Senate reporters a photo of the caucus attended by 18 senators. Senators Escudero, Bong Go and Imee Marcos were not in the photo.

In a statement, Escudero said MIF is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), not an agency of government, that would be engaged in corporate and business functions.

“Why allow congressmen/senators to interfere with its daily operations? In fact, the thrust should be to insulate it from politics and undue interference. Congress’ power to investigate abuses cannot be taken away by law because it is enshrined in the Constitution,” he said.

“The economic team, after our discussions, will propose a lot of amendments and would like to see a clean copy and clarify certain issues for the record before voting on it,” he noted.

“Up to today, I haven’t seen the ‘test of economic viability’ required by the Constitution before Congress can create a GOCC (Article XII, Section 16 of 1987). This is important in order for the bill to pass constitutional scrutiny in case someone questions it before the SC,” Escudero added.

Senator Marcos, the President’s sister, said she is waiting for response to issues she pointed out in the first Senate version of the measure.

She had questioned the inclusion of the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System in the list of the MIF’s capital sources. She has expressed concern, however, over an amendment allowing their board of directors to include them in the list of funding sources for MIF.

“I haven’t really seen the final final yet so I can’t say if the senators still have anything to worry about. So I will listen to the debate first. And ask for the cleanest final copy,” she added.

When asked whether it would be unwise to include the Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Marcos said she is just worried. “I just want to see the formulation,” she said, stressing the issues she was raising were “very basic,” like the sources of fund.

She clarified that she was not against the proposal to create an MIF. “It’s not that I am against it. In fairness, they removed SSS and GSIS as possible sources of funds, but now it is back again. I’m worried about the grandparents, I don’t want to agree to include GSIS and SSS because I said they don’t belong to the government but to the people.”

Marcos said the bankers were saying that the MIF might be a slippery slope because the board of directors concerned can actually decide on their own. “And while it’s not mandatory, the option remains open (to tap GSIS and SSS).”

BSP favors new MIF version

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), for its part, said it is supporting the latest version of the MIF recently certified as urgent by President Marcos.

BSP Governor Felipe Medalla told reporters on the sidelines of the general membership meeting of the Fintech Alliance of the Philippines that the bill has evolved since it was first proposed.

“What I’m saying is the bill as it is now is okay. This is the product of long periods of discussions on the bill. For instance it is no longer a sovereign wealth fund, it is now more of a national development and investment fund,” Medalla said.

The BSP chief said the fund could be used for targeted strategic objectives of the national government, including climate change.

“I don’t know what it will be used for. But the way it’s evolving now, it will be very targeted and it will have many good governance principles,” he added.

The Senate has already received a letter from the President certifying the creation of the MIF 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.

In his letter to Senate President Zubiri, Marcos said he was certifying 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 as reasons for his vouching for the prompt passage of the MIF to pump-prime the economy.

“There 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,” the Chief Executive said.

The Maharlika Investment Corp. – with an initial capital fund from the BSP, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Landbank and 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 in 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.

A board of directors composed of the secretary of the Department of Finance, the presidents of Landbank and DBP, two regular directors, three “independent directors” from the private sector would govern the investment corporation.

The MIF bill hurdled the House of Representatives in December last year after being certified as urgent by the President. — Lawrence Agcaoili, Iris Gonzales