Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Monday, June 5, believes there is no room for interpretation on the provisions in the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill, insisting that the Congress-approved final version strictly prohibits pension funds from being invested in the MIF. Villanueva said the bill as passed by the Senate and as adopted by the House of Representatives, is very clear in absolutely prohibiting “government agencies and GOCCs providing for the social security and public health insurance of government employees, private sector workers and employees, and other sectors and subsectors, such as, but not limited to the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG Fund, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) Pension Fund shall be absolutely prohibited, whether mandatory or voluntary,” from investing in the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC)—the proposed government-owned company that would be created to manage the MIF. The senator emphasized that this prohibition was even repeated three times - in Section 6(2) on the allowed investors to the preferred shares of MIC; on the last paragraph of Section 6 which further solidifies the prohibition of these agencies to invest in the capitalization of the MIC; and again on Section 12 on the investors to the MIF. "We trust that the IRR (implementing rules and regulations) will be faithful to the bill that we passed and to the numerous manifestations and statements of support from this representation and our colleagues on this issue,” Villanueva stressed. Earlier, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the GSIS and the SSS would still be able to participate in the activities of the sovereign wealth fund. According to Diokno, the GSIS or the SSS can still “subscribe” to the MIC’s activities but on a project level. “For example, the Maharlika has a big project worth P1-trillion and the GSIS or SSS wants to subscribe or invest in 10% of that (project) because it has high return, they can do it… in the project, but not on equity,” Diokno was quoted telling reporters at his weekly briefing. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. had also said board of directors of these agencies might decide to invest their investible in the MIC. Some senators have expressed belief that the President was not advised on the existence of this prohibition, which is clearly stated in the MIF bill. But Villanueva said he will ask Sen. Mark Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, and defender of the MIF bill in the Senate whether an enrolled bill has already been transmitted to the President for approval or veto. Asked about Diokno’s statement, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, reiterated his position that the government should be “hands off” these private funds. “Yun words kasi na ginagamit nila parang (the words they are using are like) ‘play on words.’ They are avoiding the words used in the law like initial capital, additional capital, bonds,” Pimentel pointed out. “If they say ‘subscribe to projects’, ano ibig sabihin nun (What does that mean)? GSIS and SSS will ‘finance’ the projects? Financing means advancing the money needed,” he noted. “Isn’t that plain and simple ‘lending’ or ‘loaning money’ to the project? Just like buying a bond from the Maharlika Corp. same thing. (What they are doing is) circumvention, in effect,” he stressed. “The question is: why are they so interested in the funds or money of the GSIS and the SSS? These are the members’ private funds. Government should be hands off these private funds,” reiterated Pimentel, who earlier called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to veto the MIF bill.