IN Brussels, Belgium, House Speaker Martin Romualdez joined his cousin President Bongbong Marcos for the ASEAN-European Union summit last week, the rich and famous Leyteño urged the Chief Executive to certify as urgent the passage of the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund Bill.
Just asking: why is it that this contentious measure is no longer referred to as a "wealth fund"? The answer is simple--it isn't one in the first place. "Investment fund" is more like it, although one critic who answers to the name Carpio said it might as well be called a "debt fund."
The Speaker told the President, which he later revealed to reporters during the press conference (Romualdez attended in lieu of the President who was sick with colds)--"If you ask me, why don't we just certify it as urgent so if you go to Davos we can just talk about having a sovereign wealth (fund) passed through the House of Representatives and that will be a very very exciting thing."
Romualdez said then that two-thirds of the House lawmakers had already signified their support for the bill.
On Thursday, the House approved on third and final reading the bill creating the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), just a little over two weeks after it was filed by Romualdez.
A total of 279 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, while six voted against it.
The six members who opposed the measure were Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr., Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman and Reps. Brosas, Castro and Manuel.
The Speaker's pronouncements in Belgium revealed that he and by extension, probably PBBM, would like to boast at the coming World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland the Philippines' joining the list of countries with their own sovereign wealth funds. And this might convince the Chief Executive to accept the invitation from the WEF to attend the prestigious Swiss meeting of global leaders.
Earlier, Marcos said he was not inclined to go to Davos (and would rather go to Davao?) because he would be having so many foreign trips, considering that he is scheduled to visit China early next month.
Going back to the Maharlika fund, Romualdez, Rep. Sandro Marcos, Rep. Stella Quimpo and Rep. Joey Salceda were all citing the experience of Singapore's Temasek and downplaying Malaysia's 1MDB in their endorsement of Maharlika.
They either do not know or they know but are knowingly hiding the fact that Temasek lost millions of dollars in the recent FTX cryptocurrency scam perpetrated by Sam Bankman-Fried in America. If Temasek, which has 40 years of experience in global investments can be scammed like this, imagine how Filipino fund managers would fare?
The original Maharlika fund idea had a proposed initial capital of P275 billion, to be invested here and abroad and hopefully to raise money for local development projects such as in transportation, infrastructure, energy and telecommunication.
Among the changes made is the deletion of funds from the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) from the original sources of MWF seed capital, to be replaced by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The central bank said they may have a surplus of P30- to P35 billion to contribute to the fund. This would be added to the P75 billion which will be jointly contributed by the Land Bank and the Development Bank of the Philippines, and so the seed capital of MWF would only amount to P105 to P110 billion, as a result of the non-participation of the SSS and the GSIS.
Another change made is that the President of the Philippines will no longer be the chairman of the Fund, but will be replaced by the finance secretary, who is after all his/her alter ego.
“From the President to his alter ego, the finance secretary, to chair the Maharlika investment corporation – what is the difference?” Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said in a statement.
"The finance secretary serves at the pleasure of the President and must conform to the President’s bidding to retain his position.”