Supreme Court asked to declare 'dangerous' Maharlika fund unconstitutional
MANILA, Philippines — Bayan Muna filed in the Supreme Court a petition seeking to declare as unconstitutional and void the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023, saying the measure is a “disaster waiting to happen.”
In July, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed into law a bill creating the country’s first sovereign wealth fund, which the government claims will boost economic growth.
However, critics—including business groups, academia, economists, and opposition lawmakers—have warned it will be prone to misuse.
Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares and former representatives Carlos Isagani Zarate and Ferdinand Gaite filed a petition Monday. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel was also named a petitioner.
The petitioners also asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order or preliminary injustice or status quo ante order to stop the implementation of Republic Act 11954, and to conduct oral arguments.
“Petitioners ask this Honorable Court to intervene in this constitutional transgression and put a stop to this practice—especially on such a dangerous law as the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023,” the petition read.
Grounds
The petitioners argued that the law creating the Maharlika Investment Fund is unconstitutional because Congress rushed its approval through a presidential certification of urgency.
“The court can take judicial notice of the fact that there was no declared state of calamity as defined by law which exists to necessitate the immediate passing of the Maharlika Bill,” the petition read.
The SC junked in May a petition of the Makabayan bloc to void Marcos’ certification of the MIF bill as urgent.
The petitioners noted that the “unnecessary” rush to pass the measure on last reading led to mistakes, with lawmakers making a correction on double provisions on the prescriptive period. They called this a “constitutionally fatal act in the passage of the law.”
The petitioners also said that the establishment of the Maharlika Investment Fund as a government-owned or -controlled corporation failed to satisfy the test of economic viability, and that it violates the independence of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The P500 billion-MIF will primarily draw its funds from the national government, including BSP, Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines and gaming revenue.
“A sovereign wealth fund and un-transparent Maharlika Investment Corporation has no place in a country that is still plagued with corruption,” the petition read. — with report from Cristina Chi and Ramon Royandoyan
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