Maharlika bill likely to reach Malacanang this week —Villanueva

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said he expects the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill to reach Malacanang this week for the president's signature.

This, as he said that work of the secretariat is continuous "of cleaning up the bill and finalizing the [typographical] errors and other clerical errors to avoid inconsistencies.”

These final touches are important before sending the final version to Malacanang for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.‘s approval, Villanueva added.

Acknowledging there were errors in the bill, Villanueva said they are “only human” and these typographical errors are normal especially when the measure was passed during wee hours.

“I don’t want to glorify yung mga sinsabing minadali or nagkamali. We are only human beings and during that time it’s already 3:00 or 2:30 in the morning,” he said.

“And nangyayari ang mga typo errors, nangyayari ang mali ang numero and that’s the main reason why the bills would have to go through the Senate secretariat and the House of Representatives secretary general to look into it bago dalhin sa Palasyo at maging enrolled bill,” he added.

Prescription period for crimes

Villanueva said Senator Mark Villar, sponsor of the measure in the Senate, is firm on the 10-year prescription period for crimes specified in the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill.

The lawmaker made the remark after the Congress-approved version of the measure contained two sections with different number of years as prescription period.

One section of the MIF bill provides a 10-year prescription period for crimes punishable under the measure while another section in the same bill provides for a 20-year prescription period.

Villanueva said Villar had sent a letter to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri through Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. clarifying that the final version of the bill should carry the 10-year prescription period.

GMA News Online has reached out to the office of Villar for a copy of the letter.

“According to Senator Mark…if you look at the records of the Senate, he himself as the sponsor and chairperson of the committee made mention and I quote ‘We are firm on a 10-year prescription,’” Villanueva said in an interview with reporters.

Villanueva recalled that the proposed amendment set the prescription period at 20 years was rejected and not carried in the bill that was approved by the Senate.

Villanueva also affirmed Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s statement that the state-run pension institutions can co-invest with the Maharlika Investment Corporation in other projects.

He explained that under the bill, the state-run pension firms are only prohibited from being the source of Maharlika Investment Fund’s seed capital.

“If Maharlika wanted to join the GSIS project. Can they join? Yes… But GSIS goes to Maharlika, brings the pension funds to Maharlika, that’s a different story,” he said.

Villanueva said they would monitor and make sure that the implementing rules and regulations will uphold the prohibition on the use of pension funds in the MIF.

Recently, Diokno said the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS) would still be able to participate in the activities of the sovereign wealth fund.

The Finance chief said that if the GSIS or the SSS deems it advantageous, it can still “subscribe” to the MIC’s activities but on a project level.—LDF, GMA Integrated News