18-7-2023 (MANILA) Concerns have been raised over the Maharlika bill after several members of Congress and the public did not get to read the final text before it was signed into law on Tuesday. Bayan Muna Chairperson Neri Colmenares said that the signing of the bill without furnishing the public with a copy of its final version was akin to keeping the measure shrouded in “secrecy.” Colmenares added that the lack of transparency over the final text stoked worries over the adequacy of safety net provisions inserted to prevent misuse of the fund.
The final version of the Senate bill creating the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) explicitly prohibits state-run pension funds, such as the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the Social Security System (SSS), the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., the Home Development Mutual Fund, the Overseas Welfare Workers Association, and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office from investing in Maharlika. However, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno has also said that the SSS and GSIS can still invest in its projects.
While President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. previously assured the public that the president and finance secretary will not join the directors of the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) to keep politics out of its management, a Palace briefer on Maharlika states that the finance secretary is the chairperson of MIC.
Senator Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said that the speed at which Maharlika passed through Congress involved “unconstitutional shortcuts.” The provisions of the law also had “inherent contradictions and clear confusion,” Pimentel said. He added that the Maharlika bill will “definitely” be questioned at the Supreme Court, one reason being that the bill signed by the president “was not the version passed by Congress.”
Meanwhile, TAMA NA Convenor David San Juan said the president’s assurances of the fund and its potential investment returns “mean nothing” due to prior warnings from economists about the inherent flaws of the president’s pet measure. “Given its management structure, TAMA NA expects the fund to do badly. It is possible that favored corporations linked to dynasties will get a huge chunk of investments from MIF,” San Juan added.
The lack of clarity and defined boundaries in the management structure of the MIF has also been criticized by Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party). She said this can lead to “unchecked discretion and absolute decision-making.” Despite opposition to the creation of the Maharlika Investment Fund, Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay) previously said that “congressional wisdom and expediency are not justiciable issues before the Supreme Court.”
