Zubiri sees passage of Maharlika fund bill in Senate after Holy Week break

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri expects that the bill establishing the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) will be passed by the upper chamber on final reading after Holy Week.

"Tingin ko mga after Holy Week na 'yan for second and third reading approval and of course, discussion [at the] bicameral conference committee kasi marami pa tayong ite-take up," Zubiri said on Saturday. 

Both houses of Congress are set to resume sessions on Monday and adjourn again on March 24 or before Holy Week.

Sessions will resume on May 8 and run until June 2.

Before they take their break on March 24, Zubiri said he sees the passage of the MIF bill at the committee level.

He also suggested the immediate conduct of hearings on the bill, which was certified as an urgent measure by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

Zubiri said Senate banks, financial intermediaries, and currencies chairman Mark Villar already filed a counterpart bill last week, but the latter has yet to confirm it.

"I hope that, at the soonest possible time, magtawag na po siya ng committee hearing para pagdiskusyunan na po natin ito na mga miyembro ng Senado. So the ball is in his court siya po ang chairman ng committee on banks and financial Institution," he said.

"Kasama naman niya palagi si Presidente kapag umikot sa abroad, sa mga presidential trips and visits at pinag-uusapan nila ang Maharlika Fund. So I think...he is well-versed on the need for the Maharlika Fund," he added.

According to Zubiri, Villar's bill is identical to the version passed by the House of Representatives.

Asked about the latest amendments to the House version, Zubiri said that anything is possible in the legislative process.

He said they are amenable to the changes made by the lower house but warned that there might be repercussions.

Meanwhile, Zubiri said the Senate cannot snub the President's push for a sovereign wealth fund after the chief executive promoted the proposed MIF at the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

However, safeguards must be put in place to prevent corruption, according to the Senate leader.

"Alam mo naman pag hiningi po ng Pangulo 'yan, hindi naman maganda na iisnub natin ang Pangulo. We cannot snub him. Maganda naman ang kanyang adhikain, maganda naman ang adhikain ng panukalang ito, importante lang na lagyan lang natin ng safeguards para hindi maging prone to corruption or corruption issues. We have to make sure that safeguards are in place," he said.

"Ang importante dito at ang puno't dulo nitong panukalang ito ay mapalago o mapaganda niya ang ekonomiya ng ating bansa through development programs, through development projects...So we are strongly, I will not say supportive, but we strongly support the move to discuss as soon as possible para nang sa ganun makagawa kami ng desisyon," he added.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III expressed his continued opposition to the creation of the MIF, saying the frequent revisions to the bill for the sovereign wealth fund showed that the administration and the lawmakers pushing for it did not conduct enough research.

The latest development prompted Pimentel to question who proposed the creation of a sovereign wealth fund for the Philippines.

"This is not mentioned in the [State of the Nation Address] and is not on the list of [Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council] priorities. Hence, the question is: Where is this coming from? Who thought about this? Capitalists who have diminished incomes because of the slowdown in the world economy?" he asked.

Marcos said on Friday he had no hand in the revision of the House-approved version of the MIF bill. 

He also assured business executives in Switzerland that the MIF will be run "professionally and properly." —VBL, GMA Integrated News