Amid rumors that the House leadership will have the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Bill approved on second reading before the holiday break, the Makabayan bloc maintained Thursday, Dec. 15 that the proposed Philippine sovereign wealth fund was both "dangerous" and "untimely".
"We stand firm in our assertion that the Maharlika Investment Fund is a dangerous, untimely gamble of our financial resources which opens pathways to corruption and fraud," Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said during a virtual press conference of the militant House members.
"Kaya patuloy nating haharangin ito mamaya sa huling araw ng session (This is why we will continue to block it later during the final session day of the year). Gathering the support of hundreds of lawmakers does not make the bill any less dangerous," she said.
Brosas was referring to pronouncements made by House Speaker Martin Romualdez that the MIF Bill, embodied in House Bill (HB) No.6608, now has around 250 co-authors. The lower chamber has 312 members.
"Yung isusugal natin ay existing financial resources na napakaliit pa, hindi yan surplus. Tapos malinaw na mahina ang safeguards sa paggamit ng pondo, at kahit yung penalties sa violations ay paconsuelo lang (What we will gamble are our meager financial resources, not surplus funds. And it's clear that the safeguards on the fund usage has are weak, and even the penalties that they added for violations are just for consolation)," she claimed.
The MIF has been up for plenary approval on second reading since plenary session Monday, Dec. 12.
Members of the minority, where Brosas and the rest of the Makabayan solons belong to, have been the ones standing up in plenary to debate with the measure's sponsor, Manila 5th district Rep. Irwin Tieng.
By Dec. 17, the House will have been its five-week holiday recess. There are no sessions on Friday, unless Malacañang orders a special session.
Through a hundred billion-peso seed money or start up capital, the proposed MIF will be used to raise profits for big-ticket government projects through investments here and abroad.