Hontiveros hits certification of Maharlika fund bill as urgent ​

 
 
The justification for the immediate passage of the Maharlika Fund is too convoluted and vague, so said Sen. Risa Hontiveros.
 
Hontiveros, in a statement on Thursday, slammed the certification of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill.
 
“It is still being pushed despite the fact that there is nothing left of the income from the Malampaya oil and gas fields, and the law that would have raised the government's income from opening mines has not yet been passed,” Hontiveros lamented.
 
“Since there is no excess ‘wealth,’ they are now interested in taking the highly profitable funds of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). This would be a huge loss to farmers and small businesses that cannot afford to loan from private commercial banks,” she warned.
 
She also criticized the deteriorating condition of trade and banks around the world being used as a pretext for lawmakers to act on the measure urgently.
 
“However, this would necessitate the use of Bangko Sentral funds, which are our most reliable safeguard against peso depreciation, price increases, and loan interest rate increases,” she pointed out.
 
Against this background, the Senate deputy minority leader noted that Malacañang refuses to disclose where the funds will be allocated. 
 
“Will it be for drivers and operators who don’t have the capital for jeepney modernization? Will it for the onion farmers or for fisherfolk without cold storage for their products? Or for new power plants and solar power storage required to prevent brownouts? I suppose not,” she said.
 
Malacañang, she said, could have prioritized proposed laws aimed at improving social services, the agricultural and transportation industry and particularly, the energy industry.
 
“There’s nothing more urgent than prioritizing funding  our social services, agriculture, transport sector, and energy sector. Maraming pamilyang Pilipino ang namamaluktot na sa maiksing kumot (The Filipino families are the ones suffering),” she stressed.
 
“We must not allow our economy to sink deeper because of unreasonable spending,” she further said.