MIF critics press for repeal, not review
Critics of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) on Wednesday pushed anew for the scrapping of the country’s “rushed and half-baked” sovereign wealth fund, while lawmakers allied with the administration tried to make light of President Marcos’ decision to suspend its implementation. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman pointed out that “no foreign investor has come to the rescue of the MIF,” contrary to economic managers’ projections that it would spur foreign direct investments. “What should be suspended by the President is the entire implementation of the law for further in-depth study for perfecting amendments, if still possible, or final repeal because current negative economic indicators do not support the enactment and implementation of the MIF,” the independent opposition solon said. In a statement to the Inquirer, Lagman quipped that “haste makes waste” would be an appropriate aphorism for inscription on the epitaph of the fund because Republic Act No. 11954, or the MIF Act, was “enacted with inordinate alacrity without adequate and searching studies from the President’s economic advisers and congressional allies.” ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro agreed with her colleagues that the suspension of the MIF showed that it was “rushed and flawed on so many levels.” Koko: Not surprising Sen. Francis Escudero and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said the President’s decision to suspend RA 11954 was not surprising as there were questions about the fund’s functions that members of the economic team had failed to address. Escudero, Pimentel and Sen. Imee Marcos did not participate when the Senate approved the measure on May 31 and only opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros voted against its passage. According to Pimentel, the move was a “very good development” since the law “has a lot of defects.” The opposition senator was among those who petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the MIF unconstitutional. “The concept has not been fully studied from the very start,” Pimentel said in a Viber message. “Hence, we should not wonder why apparently the law is not ready for implementation. Good that the Marcos administration appears to listen to reason,” he noted. Hontiveros said Mr. Marcos was apparently “starting to heed our warnings” about the possible adverse effects of the MIF on the country’s fiscal standing. President’s discretion However, Mr. Marcos’ allies in the House downplayed the suspension of the MIF’s implementation. House ways and means panel chair Rep. Joey Salceda stressed that “the President’s exercise of executive
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