President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should veto the recently passed Senate Bill No. 2020, or the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund bill, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said Friday.
Describing the proposed MIF bill as “an ill-conceived legislation,” Pimentel said Marcos should “return it to Congress for rectification.”
“The bill, in its current form, is not acceptable. I am calling on the President to exercise his veto power and return the measure to Congress,” he said.
“It is in the best interest of the Filipino people and the administration if the measure is sent back to Congress, so we will have the chance to take a second look at the measure in order to address the concerns raised by many sectors,” he added.
This, after Congress officially adopted the MIF bill which was passed by the Senate on third and final reading in the early morning of Wednesday after almost 12 hours of marathon debates.
Pimentel said that due to its desire to expedite the passage of MIF bill, Congress failed to vet the measure, which he described as “full of opaque provisions, contradictions, ambiguities, and loopholes.”
“By returning it to Congress, it will allow us to resolve conflicting provisions and add more safeguards to protect the funds and foster transparency and accountability,” he said.
According to Pimentel, if not vetoed, the MIF in its current form cannot withstand the scrutiny of the Supreme Court.
The Senate minority leader noted that the Supreme Court will be the next battleground for the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund, adding that he will help those who will oppose it before the High Court.
“The MIF can be challenged before the courts and for those planning to do this, I will make myself available as a source of some facts, information and arguments,” he said.