(MANILA BULLETIN)

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to pay attention to the serious concerns raised by economists and faculty members of the University of the Philippines School of Economics (UPSE) regarding the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Bill. Pimentel had earlier described the ‘’hastily-approved’’ measure as “unsalvageable” while the 21 economic professors from the country’s premiere state university called Marcos’s priority legislation “still beyond repair". "I urge and hope the President will seriously consider the warnings put forth by these distinguished economists," Pimentel said. Pimentel had earlier called on the President to veto the MIF Bill. The bill was defended on the Senate floor by Senator Mark Villar, chairman of the Senate Banks Committee. Villar had anchored his belief on the soundness of the MIF Bill with the Marcos administration’s economic advisers. These advisers include Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno and National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. They were at the Senate during the floor debate. “Sigurado po tayo na walang agenda itong dalawang dosenang ekonomista ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas kung hindi ang kapakanan ng ating bayan (I am sure the two dozen UP economists hae no hidden agenda but the welfare of rhe country). Please take heed, Mr. President,” Pimentel said. The Senate chief fiscalizer has taken a firm stance against the measure, citing its short-term and long-term consequences. In a 25-page discussion paper, the 21 economists expressed grave concern over the proposed creation of a sovereign wealth fund. “In our view, the MIF violates fundamental principles of economics and finance and poses serious risks to the economy and the public sector – notwithstanding its proponents’ good intentions,” they said. Like the 21 distinguished economists, Pimentel criticized the lack of new source of fund like surplus in trade or budget to finance the MIF. “The lack of any surpluses necessarily forces the MIF to scour money from other agencies and corporations of government, posing risks on, say, state-run banks and even the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng  Pilipoinas),” the economists said. Both Pimentel and the economists believed that MIF “takes away precious funds from the public coffers". Pimentel also echoed their position that MIF “poses huge risks to our already strained public coffers and is vulnerable to moral hazard". The former Senate President also reiterated his concerns over what he called the “super powers” vested in the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) under the measure, particularly the power to incur more debt. Lastly, Pimentel emphasized how the lack of transparency safeguards in the bill could open the funds to all kinds of abuses.