Three congressmen on Tuesday said it is not the right time to establish the Maharlika Investment Fund.

During a House plenary deliberation on House Bill 6608, Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr. said: “Although the objective of the Maharlika Investment Fund is good, I believe this is not the right time to implement it in the Philippines.”

“First of all, we can’t afford it because of our huge debt and trade deficit. Secondly, we need to strengthen the economy that was severely injured by the pandemic. I would like to suggest that instead of pushing for the Maharlika Investment Fund, let us come up with measures to strengthen our economy,” he added.

For her part, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro pointed out there could be a “conflict of interest” with the inclusion of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as one of the sources of the sovereign wealth fund.

Manila Rep. Irwin Tieng, sponsor and co-author of the bill, assured her that the BSP was simply a contributor and not part of the managing board of the fund.

“That’s why we put a provision that the BSP can only invest their dividends. They do not have board seats, so they are not involved in running the Maharlika Investment Fund,” Tieng responded.

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel criticized the measure for supposedly not having clear guidelines.

“Without clear guidelines, the Maharlika Wealth Fund can become a possible prey to private entities whose interests are focused on themselves and not on the public,” Manuel said.

“If a poor family receives money, they will focus on spending it on essentials, food, utilities, and others. In the case of our country, we do not have money for our basic needs. I don’t think the Maharlika fund is the answer to our problems,” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS