Despite the suspension of the enforcement of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) on the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Act, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) is continuously preparing the government’s comment on the petition challenging the constitutionality of the law.

Solicitor General Menardo I. Guevarra on Wednesday, Oct. 18, said his office has not received the official copy of the Supreme Court’s (SC) resolution that directed both the Executive and Legislative branches of government to comment on the petition against the MIF law under Republic Act No. 11954.

The resolution requiring the respondents in the petition to comment, both on the petition and the plea for a temporary restraining order (TRO), was issued by the SC during its full court session last Oct. 3.

“If the implementation is indeed suspended, it’s up to the petitioners if they wish to withdraw the petition. But if they don’t, and the SC does not suspend the proceedings either, the OSG will be prepared to submit its comment on the validity of the MIF law,” Guevarra said.

President Marcos has suspended the enforcement of the MIF’s IRR “pending further study.”  The suspension was issued through a memorandum last Oct. 12 by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin in behalf of the President.

The memorandum was issued to the Bureau of Treasury, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) which were directed to notify all concerned heads of departments, bureaus, offices and other agencies of the Executive Department, including government-owned and controlled corporations.

The petition against the constitutionality of the MIF law was filed by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, former congressman and Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Javier Colmenares, and former Bayan Muna congressmen Carlos Isagani Zarate and Ferdinand Gaite.

The petition cited three “serious grounds,” namely: “RA 11954 is void because it was passed in violation of Section 26 (2), Article VI, of the 1987 Constitution; the test of economic viability as mandated under Section 16, Article XII of the Constitution was not complied with prior to the creation of the Maharlika Investment Corporation; and RA 11954 violates the independence of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as provided for under Section 20, Article XII of the Constitution.”

The petition stated that the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023 “requires intense congressional scrutiny, genuine consultation with stakeholders, and a careful study by independent economic experts.”

But it alleged that “both Houses of Congress, however, went on the opposite direction and rushed the Maharlika bills and short-circuited the constitutionally mandated legislative processes, through an unnecessary and constitutionally infirm Presidential certification of urgency.”

The President had earlier said that the MIF is a tool for economic development that will promote fiscal stability through strategic and profitable investments in key sectors.

He had said that the fund would be invested in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and high-impact infrastructure projects, and projects that contribute to the attainment of sustainable development.