Zubiri welcomes SC order for Congress answer on MIF

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has welcomed the Supreme Court order for Congress to file its comment to the petition filed against the Maharlika Investment Fund law.

“It is part of the judicial process,” Zubiri said in a statement sent to reporters Tuesday night.

The Senate president maintained that the bill creating the country’s first sovereign wealth fund underwent the proper legislative process.

“(It) will therefore withstand judicial scrutiny and be upheld as constitutional,” Zubiri said.

He has instructed the Senate secretary to coordinate with the Office of the Solicitor General in the filing of comment.

The petitioners had asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order against the recently signed law, claiming that it was improper for the measure to bypass the three-day rule in getting approved from second to third reading because there was no public calamity or emergency to necessitate its urgent approval.

The high tribunal issued the order after opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, along with militant groups led by the former party-list Bayan Muna, filed a petition seeking the nullification of MIF Act of 2023 (Republic Act 11954) that President Marcos signed into law.

Congress was also accused of making amendments to the bill long after it was approved on third and final reading.

The petitioners added that the fund failed the test of economic viability required under the Constitution for newly created government-owned and controlled corporations.

At the House of Representatives, Speaker Martin Romualdez said that during deliberations, lawmakers were focused on the Maharlika fund being compliant with the 1987 Constitution.

“We have followed due legislative processes in crafting and enacting this law, keeping in mind the best interests of the Filipino people,” Romualdez said after the SC directed both houses of the bicameral Congress – the Senate and House – to comment on an anti-MIF petition.

Romualdez, who was made respondent in the suit, vowed to adhere to the SC directive. “The House of Representatives, under my leadership as the Speaker, affirms its commitment to the rule of law and will duly submit our comment within the 10-day timeframe.”

He gave assurance that the “concerns raised by the petitioners (Pimentel, Neri Colmenares, Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite et al) deserve to be addressed comprehensively.”

Among the respondents were retired chief justice now Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

Marcos signed the MIF into law in mid-July this year, making it the first-ever sovereign wealth fund of the country. With a seed capital of P150 billion, the fund will be managed by the Maharlika Investment Corp.  –  Delon Porcalla