Zubiri, Villar upbeat on PH's economic gains under MIF Act
Published Jul 18, 2023 08:01 am
Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri on Tuesday, July 18, is upbeat on the economic benefits of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Act.
Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri (Senate PRIB Photo)
Zubiri said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is "excited" with the economic advantages of the MIF Act whose funding would come from government banks which money are just lying at the vaults with very minimal returns. The President signed has just signed the MIF bill into law as Republic Act No. 11954 today.
The MIF will be the Philippines’ first-ever sovereign wealth fund that will optimize national funds by generating returns to support the Marcos administration’s economic goals as set in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), the 8-point Socioeconomic Agenda, and the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028. Zubiri said that Congress has oversight functions over the operations of the MIF board of director. It has a.long list of safeguards. The measure also has two pages of penalties for violations of the measure, and assured that the Upper Chamber would be very strict in going over the soon-to-be drafted Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the MIF law. During a press briefing at the Senate Legacy Wall, Zubiri said he suggested to the President to cite the priority programs to be funded by the MIF law when he makes his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24. "Maganda pala itong fund na ito, makakatulong talaga sa pag-unlad ng ating bansa na hindi po natin kailangan na mang-hiram pa (This MIF fund is good as it would help in our economic development without the need of borrowing {locally and internationally}. Kase kung kailangan natin ng malaking infrastructure obviously we have to fund it through either borrowings or income from taxes which could be utilized for the ongoing programs of the government so, maganda po ito. (If we really need big infrastructure projects, obviously we have to fund it through either borrowings or income taxes which could be utilized for the on-going programs of the government, This law is good)," Zubiri said. Zubiri said his humble suggestion to the President is for him to cite the Cavite-Bataan interlink toll bridge project. Use of the bridge, according to Zubiri, could shorten travel time of 40-foot container vans from three to four hours to just 45 minutes without passing through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Pampanga. The tourism and labor sectors would also benefit from the Cavite-Bataan road project, he added. "So I think that is a big game changer, that's one example that I can think of, and many others to come. But we'll let the President announce,’’ he stressed. The Senate chief was asked how confident he is when the MIF measure passed by the Senate would would be brought before the Supreme Court questioning its constitutionality "So we don't want to preempt what the Supreme Court will say, but we believe that it is constitutionally sound. The version of the Maharlika Investment Fund is constitutionally sound," he said. The Senate minority bloc had questioned the presence of two different prescriptive periods in the MIF bill - one is 20 years and the other is 10 years.They said some sectors might question the constitutionality of the measure. But Zubiri said the 10-year prescriptive period is very clear in the two sections of the measure. Zubiri emphasized that the lesson learned from this issue is that the Senate must have clear copies of the measure before they are presented for approval on second and third readings. Sen. Mark Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, and sponsor of the measure, also welcomed the signing into law of the MIF. “The signing of the Maharlika bill shows that economic recovery is one of PBBM’s major priorities. Through this we will be able to generate more jobs for the Filipino people and provide appropriate funding in sectors left behind such as agriculture, energy, health, information technology and infrastructure.” Villar said in a separate statement. The Maharlika Fund is the country’s first-ever sovereign investment fund which will be a vehicle for attaining new investment opportunities. "The MIF is a historic legislation. We are now at par with other countries who also have their own sovereign wealth fund,” Villar said. The MIF is aligned with the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) and the 8-Point Socio-economic Agenda of the current administration which also operationalizes the Philippine Development Plan 2023 – 2028, according to the senator. “We are in full support for the current administration’s goal to push for economic recovery and uplift the livelihood of all Filipinos,” he added.
Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri (Senate PRIB Photo)
Zubiri said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is "excited" with the economic advantages of the MIF Act whose funding would come from government banks which money are just lying at the vaults with very minimal returns. The President signed has just signed the MIF bill into law as Republic Act No. 11954 today.
The MIF will be the Philippines’ first-ever sovereign wealth fund that will optimize national funds by generating returns to support the Marcos administration’s economic goals as set in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), the 8-point Socioeconomic Agenda, and the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028. Zubiri said that Congress has oversight functions over the operations of the MIF board of director. It has a.long list of safeguards. The measure also has two pages of penalties for violations of the measure, and assured that the Upper Chamber would be very strict in going over the soon-to-be drafted Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the MIF law. During a press briefing at the Senate Legacy Wall, Zubiri said he suggested to the President to cite the priority programs to be funded by the MIF law when he makes his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24. "Maganda pala itong fund na ito, makakatulong talaga sa pag-unlad ng ating bansa na hindi po natin kailangan na mang-hiram pa (This MIF fund is good as it would help in our economic development without the need of borrowing {locally and internationally}. Kase kung kailangan natin ng malaking infrastructure obviously we have to fund it through either borrowings or income from taxes which could be utilized for the ongoing programs of the government so, maganda po ito. (If we really need big infrastructure projects, obviously we have to fund it through either borrowings or income taxes which could be utilized for the on-going programs of the government, This law is good)," Zubiri said. Zubiri said his humble suggestion to the President is for him to cite the Cavite-Bataan interlink toll bridge project. Use of the bridge, according to Zubiri, could shorten travel time of 40-foot container vans from three to four hours to just 45 minutes without passing through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Pampanga. The tourism and labor sectors would also benefit from the Cavite-Bataan road project, he added. "So I think that is a big game changer, that's one example that I can think of, and many others to come. But we'll let the President announce,’’ he stressed. The Senate chief was asked how confident he is when the MIF measure passed by the Senate would would be brought before the Supreme Court questioning its constitutionality "So we don't want to preempt what the Supreme Court will say, but we believe that it is constitutionally sound. The version of the Maharlika Investment Fund is constitutionally sound," he said. The Senate minority bloc had questioned the presence of two different prescriptive periods in the MIF bill - one is 20 years and the other is 10 years.They said some sectors might question the constitutionality of the measure. But Zubiri said the 10-year prescriptive period is very clear in the two sections of the measure. Zubiri emphasized that the lesson learned from this issue is that the Senate must have clear copies of the measure before they are presented for approval on second and third readings. Sen. Mark Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, and sponsor of the measure, also welcomed the signing into law of the MIF. “The signing of the Maharlika bill shows that economic recovery is one of PBBM’s major priorities. Through this we will be able to generate more jobs for the Filipino people and provide appropriate funding in sectors left behind such as agriculture, energy, health, information technology and infrastructure.” Villar said in a separate statement. The Maharlika Fund is the country’s first-ever sovereign investment fund which will be a vehicle for attaining new investment opportunities. "The MIF is a historic legislation. We are now at par with other countries who also have their own sovereign wealth fund,” Villar said. The MIF is aligned with the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) and the 8-Point Socio-economic Agenda of the current administration which also operationalizes the Philippine Development Plan 2023 – 2028, according to the senator. “We are in full support for the current administration’s goal to push for economic recovery and uplift the livelihood of all Filipinos,” he added.