MANILA, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Thursday, June 22, raised alarm over what he described as the “tampering” of the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill, saying this has cast doubt on the constitutionality of the administration measure.

“The enrolled bill being sent to the President is not the version properly and formally approved by Congress. Merong provision po diyan na ginalaw without plenary authority (There’s a provision there that was touched without proper plenary authority),” Pimentel said.

“The revisions made were not just matter of style. It showed a flagrant violation of our rules and the Constitution,” he added, referring to sections 50 and 51 on prescription of crimes and offenses, which gave two different periods, and were combined long after the bill was approved by Congress.

On Wednesday, June 21, Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. said the conflicting provisions were “reconciled” by “combining” the two and retaining 10 years, because it was the period approved in plenary.

In the version approved by the Congress on May 31, Section 50 prescribes a 10-year period, while Section 51 sets it at 20 years.

“All along, that should have been 10 years. It’s in the transcript,” Bantug said.

Pimentel said, however, that the “tampering” of the bill reflected badly on the Senate “which has stood strong for over a century as the guardian of our Constitution and the rule of law.”

“The Constitution, the cornerstone of our nation, is no longer being read and followed. Our rules have been rendered meaningless and worthless,” he said.

Veto the bill

Pimentel reiterated his appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the bill.

“It is not timely as the world economy and geopolitical situations are bad. This kind of a law needs more time to be discussed by the Filipino People themselves, in fairness to them,” he said.

On the same day, Thursday, Marcos said he would sign the bill “as soon” as he gets it. He also sought to ease fears over the bill, saying “good money managers” would be tapped to manage the proposed fund.

A week before the adjournment of session, the upper chamber fast tracked the approval of the Maharlika bill, a priority legislation of the Marcos administration.

Despite opposition from groups, the Senate passed the Maharlika bill in the first hours of May 31, after an 11-hour plenary session.

The MIF is a proposed sovereign wealth fund that will be used by the government to invest in key sectors like domestic and foreign corporate bonds, commercial real estate, and infrastructure projects – to help fund the country’s priority programs.

The proposed Maharlika fund has sparked public outcry from pensioners, and faced a legal challenge before the Supreme Court. Critics questioned the timing of the bill as there are more pressing issues the government needs to focus on like addressing high inflation. – Rappler.com