Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Sunday, December 18 said the Senate minority bloc will make an attempt to block the passage of the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill which they foresee to be a huge risk for the Philippines should it ever become a law.
Pimentel assured he and Sen. Risa Hontiveros are already studying the proposed MIF bill under which investments would be managed by only a select group of people. Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri had earlier said the Senate will tackle the measure when Congress resumes in January 23, 2023.
“May pag asa pa tayo na matalo ang panukala na iyan: Matalo 100 percent...Mali eh (We still have hope that this proposal will be defeated: Defeated 100 percent...It’s wrong),” Pimentel said in an interview on Radio DZBB.
Pimentel made the remark as the Senate awaits the House of Representatives’ version of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill, which they recently passed on third and final reading after being certified as urgent by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“Defintely kung mapapasa man yan sa Senado, magbabago ang anyo niyan. May mga ideas din naman yung mga kasama natin sa Senado na pabor dyan (Defintely if it is passed in the Senate, the form of that bill will change. Our colleagues in the Senate who are in favor of that bill also have their own ideas),” the senator said.
“Pero subukan natin na kumbinsihin na hindi ito napapanahon, masama itong idea. It’s a slippery slope na pwede tayong madulas na dyan at patuloy na tayong pababa ng pababa (But we will try to convince that this measure is not timely, and that it is a bad idea. It's a slippery slope that we can fall down into and we will continue to go down),” he further said.
Asked why he believes the proposed MIF bill would be detrimental to the Philippines, Pimentel reiterated that the current international investment climate is in bad shape.
“Baon tayo sa utang and then issue pa ang corruption, ang transparency sa Pilipinas. Bakit tayo gagawa pa ng isang behikulo na parang gobyerno, pero not as accountable as the government (We are already deep in debt and then corruption and transparency in the Philippines is still an issue. Why are we going to create a vehicle that looks like the government, but not as accountable as the government)?” he pointed out.
Pimentel said, at the very least, he is glad that this early, Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri has made an assurance that the MIF bill will not be given a “special lane” by the Upper Chamber.
“Ang trato dito (sa bill ay) normal. Susundin namin ang (The bill will be treated normally as like any other measures here). We will follow) Senate rules. it will be read on first reading and referred to committee hearings,” he said.
“Hindi paspasan ang hearing. Iimbatin lahat ng mga ahenisyang nabanggit and all stakeholders dapat (The hearing won’t be rushed. We will invite all the agencies and stakeholders involved here). Because this is supposed to be for the benefit of the country and Filipinos living and about to be born. So we need to consult the public),” Pimentel said.
In the first place, the minority leader said that at this point, he is not convinced that the Philippines needs a concept of a sovereign wealth fund, much less an investment fund considering that the government has no budget surplus and still has to manage almost P14-trillion in national debt.
“Then kumambyo sila.. ginawa nang investment fund. Ano naman investment nila? Eh meron na tayong (investment) funds na pinupwersa natin ang contribution by law (They shifted gears..The proponents turned it into an investment fund. But what kind of investment? Well, we already have a number of investments. We already have investment funds that we force the contribution by law),” he said citing the cases of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Insurance Service System (GSIS).
Pimentel also said he doesn’t buy the assurance of the proponents of the measure that the MIF bill has sufficient safeguards to make sure that the funds would ultimately help strengthen the country’s economy.
“Although, meron tayong reklamo sa budget process na masyadong mabilis, kulang sa transparency, at least mas transparent yan kesa ipasa natin ang pag-determine ng national priority project sa isang board un-elected by the people. Na ang Board of Directors ang meeting ay nasa isang kwarto, at nakasara ang pinto...So ganun ang mangyayari diyan eh (Although we have a complaints about our budget processes and saying that it is too fast, lacks transparency, at least that is more transparent than us passing the determination of the national priority project to a board unelected by the people. A board of directors whose meeting is held in a room with the door closed .. so that's what will happen),” he said.
“The Philippines is not known as a corrupt-free country,” Pimentel lamented.
In the upcoming Senate hearings on the bill, Pimentel also said it is necessary to find out the origins of the measure, saying it is imperative for the public to scrutinize the original version of the measure.
“The same people who presented the President’s medium term fiscal framework, the (Marcos administration’s) economic team, are the same people behind this Maharlika bill,” he noted.
“Their assumption of a seven (7) percent rate of return...we will test their assumptions. We will ask them how do they make their assumptions,” Pimentel said.