CALLING it the “country’s largest investment scam,” the Akbayan Party on Wednesday slammed the Senate’s quick passage of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill, approved on second and third and final reading by senators on the eve of the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress.
“Our lawmakers just passed a measure enabling the country’s largest investment scam. And the government itself is the con artist,” declared Akbayan in a statement on Wednesday morning, hours after the Senate voted with 19 yes votes, one no vote and one abstention at past 2 in the morning.
Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, an Akbayan member, cast the lone negative vote. Sen. Nancy Binay abstained.
Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who delivered a lengthy turno en contra speech detailing the perils of creating a supposed sovereign wealth fund (SWF), not on surplus monies but largely on debt and on contributions from the central bank, was absent during the final vote. Senators Imee Marcos and Chiz Escudero, who have warned against rushing passage of the MIF bill in its current form, were also not around when the vote was called.
The chamber called for the second and third readings in quick succession because a week ago, the MIF Senate version was certified by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who echoed his advisers’ argument that an MIF was needed to provide for new sources of quick funding for vital infrastructure projects, and for addressing “poverty,” which sponsors declared as the “emergency” that justified the Palace certification.
A certification allows lawmakers to skip the constitutional requirement of a three-day interval between second- and third- reading votes.
Akbayan, however, slammed the Senate’s quick action on MIF, calling it “the largest investment scam in recent memory.”
At Tuesday’s period of amendments, Senators revised the bill — as suggested by Sen. Raffy Tulfo– to explicitly prohibit the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) from investing in the MIF, whether on a mandatory or voluntary basis.
Investments from these agencies had been a major cause for concern among some senators and pensioners. Senators like Pimentel and Hontiveros noted that while the House version dropped these institutions from those mandated to provide the MIF seed fund, the prior Senate version had opened a “backdoor” for pension funds to come in on “voluntary” basis — if their boards allowed them to make investments in MIF on a judgment call that such would earn money for their members.
The bill’s main sponsor, Banks Committee chairman Sen. Mark A. Villar had rejected, however, another amendment suggested by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, to also exclude Bangko Sentral ng Philipinas (BSP) from those mandated to contribute initially to the MIF. Gatchalian aired widespread concern that forcing BSP to contribute would delay its capitalization buildup program, stretching it to 14 years. There is concern that as the global environment is rather volatile, the central bank might not have enough financial muscle to deal with shocks to the financial system.
However, Villar rejected Gatchalian’s amendment to exclude BSP from the MIF contributors. Nonetheless, Gatchalian voted for the MIF in the end.
For its part, Akbayan noted that even with the removal of various pension funds, capital for the MIF will still come from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) – which have constituencies to serve — and the national government, and called on the public to remain vigilant.
“This bill shouldn’t even exist. Safeguards may be in place now, but a law is only as good as its execution. And we should not be lulled into a false sense of security just because these measures exist in the bill. Lalo nga tayong dapat mag-ingat at magbantay [all the more reason for us to be vigilant],” Akbayan Party President Rafaela David said.
She cautioned that “the bill can still change. And it’s very possible that they could just re-insert the SSS and GSIS as sources of funding in the final version. Pera ng bawat Pilipino ang nakasalalay dito. Nabudol na tayo ng isang Marcos noon, hindi na dapat ngayon,” Akbayan President David said.
Image credits: Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB
