The proposed sovereign wealth fund or the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) does not have enough safeguards to protect public funds from losses or being looted, Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares said Monday.
which allocates as capital for the proposed fund P250 billion from state financial institutions—including pension funds SSS and GSIS—and P25 billion from the National Treasury.
“Safeguards? The bill states the fund will be exempted from regulatory restrictions. It is exempted from the Procurement law which was crafted to prevent lack of public bidding. It will be exempted from tax laws, not only the Maharlika fund transaction but all those connected and related transactions. Given that, what will be left for the COA [Commission on Audit] to audit?” he added.
“[I]t is not right to say this initiative does not have any risk. In fact, there are insufficient safeguards,” Colmenares added. “When it comes to these things, you say you don’t have funds, but for the Maharlika fund, you have P125 billion,” Castro added.“The health emergency allowance for health workers has long been signed into law by former President Rodrigo Duterte but until now, it remains unfunded. The health workers are demoralized already,” Mendoza said.
Salceda's statement also said that tax provisions of the MIF Act that have been approved "ensure that the benefits of the tax savings go purely towards the investment fund, increasing potential returns for the SSS and the GSIS." In a separate statement, former senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said that his proposal creating a sovereign wealth fund back in 2016 was made under different circumstances.
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