A House of Representatives member who has been able to work closely with senators in the current 19th Congress believes that the latter would ultimately approve the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Bill.
Not only that, but the Senate will even endeavor to improve the controversial MIF Bill, according to Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel.
“We are confident the Senate will pass the bill after giving it a fair hearing and putting in further improvements,” said Pimentel, a senior member of the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in the House.
Pimentel is a member of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA). Chaired by the Senate President, the 25-member CA is composed of congressmen and senators who are tasked to determine whether or not appointees of the Philippine president are fit for their respective posts.
CA hearings are done at the Senate.
Embodied in House Bill (HB) No.6608, the MIF will be used as the Philippine sovereign wealth fund. The House has already approved the measure on third and final reading, meaning it is now up to the Senate to file and hear their own version of the MIF Bill.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had earlier certified the bill as urgent.
The House-approved measure says the MIF may be invested in a wide range of real and financial assets to generate long-term social wealth savings and to fuel national economic development.
The MIF’s permissible investments include joint ventures and infrastructure projects.
At least 20 percent of the net profits of the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIF)–the entity that would manage the MIF–would be remitted to the national treasury “to be earmarked for social welfare projects".
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Nearly 50 countries around the world have established sovereign wealth funds, many of which are funded by surplus government revenues or reserves.
“If we look at Indonesia, they are actually using their newly established sovereign wealth fund to attract private partners that can co-invest in developing highly productive infrastructure assets,” Pimentel said
“New railways, toll expressways and airports create more jobs that benefit low-income Filipino families. They also expand the markets for small and medium-sized enterprises that comprise 99 percent of all registered businesses in the country,” he added.