Mark Villar: Safeguards in place vs. officials, employees using Maharlika for corruption

Senator Mark Villar on Thursday said there are safeguards set in place against officials and employees who will use the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) as a tool to squander public money.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Villar, principal author of the MIF bill in the Senate, explained regular laws on graft, malversation, and plunder are still applicable on the MIF, with additional administrative fines imposed against those found liable.

MIF is a sovereign wealth fund that the government can use to make investments.

“Lahat ng laws ay applicable sa Maharlika tapos dinagdagan pa namin ng additional administrative fines. So, dinagdagan pa namin ‘yung parusa ‘pag may mga instances ng kung anuman kung malversation up to plunder,” the lawmaker said.

(All laws are applicable to Maharlika and we also added additional administrative fines. So, we have intensified the punishment for instances like malversation up to plunder.)

“Mabigat talaga ang parusa. Kasama na ‘yan sa bill, sa mga safeguards na nilagay namin na meron talagang mabigat na parusa ‘pag may mga officers o mga employees na gumawa ng kalokohan,” he added.

(The punishment is really heavy. That is included in the bill, in the safeguards that we have put in place that there is a really heavy punishment when there are officers or employees who did something wrong.)

The Senate approved early Wednesday the proposed measure seeking to establish the sovereign wealth fund.

On the same day, during the bicameral conference committee meeting, the House of Representatives adopted the Senate version of the Maharlika bill.

Asked when he thinks President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would sign the bill if ever, Villar said the decision will be known “very soon.”

“Ayaw ko naman i-preempt ang President. Of course, alam naman natin na syempre pabor siya sa Maharlika bill. I don’t want to preempt. I cannot speak for the President. Hintayin na lang natin ‘yung decision ni President,” he said.

(I don't want to preempt the President. Of course we know that he is in favor of the Maharlika bill. I don't want to preempt. I cannot speak for the President. Let's just wait for the President's decision.)

According to the bill, the MIF will be created through the funds which will be sourced from:

•     Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP): P50 billion
•     Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP): P25 billion
•     National Government: P50 billion

Meanwhile, the contribution from the national government will come from the following sources:

•     Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' total declared dividends
•     National government's share from the income of PAGCOR
•     Properties, real and personal identified by the DOF-Privatization and Management Office
•     Other sources such as royalties and/or special assessments

Among the major amendments introduced to the bill was the absolute prohibition of the use of funds of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) corporation, Pag-IBIG, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippines Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) in the capitalization and investments in the Maharlika fund.

Villar explained there will be a “low risk” of investment in Maharlika which will produce “medium yield” of return estimated at 8% to 10%.

“Sa tingin ko hindi naman high risk ‘yung Maharlika. Medyo low risk pero maganda ang yield. Hindi naman low yield. Medium yield siguro pero low risk… Ayaw din natin ng masyadong high risk,” he said.

(I don't think that Maharlika is high risk. It’s relatively low risk but has good yield. It's not low yield. Maybe medium yield but low risk. We also don't want it to be too high risk.)

“Ang initial projection ng Maharlika…ang estimate lang po nila siguro target nila 8%-10% yield pero pwede ding mas mataas. Pero depende pa rin. ‘Yung target lang po 8%-10%, sa tingin ko kaya naman,” he added.

(Based on the initial projection of Maharlika, the estimated target is 8%-10% yield, but it may be higher. It still depends. That’s only a target but I think we can achieve that.)

Should the government get investments amounting P125 billion per annum, Villar said it will earn P12.5 billion every year if Maharlika has 10% return of investment.—AOL, GMA Integrated News