Senator Mark Villar remains confident of the benefits of establishing the country’s sovereign wealth fund, saying it is very timely and beneficial to revamping the Philippine economy hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Upper Chamber said there’s no need to ratify the MIF bill since the House of Representatives adopted the Senate version of the measure during a pre-bicameral session on Wednesday.
In a press briefing, Villar shied away from politicking, reiterating that the benefits of Senate Bill 2020 had been carefully studied and thoroughly analyzed.
“These have been tackled during the debates, the benefits of the Maharlika bill — definitely this is not political. This is for our economy, especially since we were badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and we need to revamp our economy,” he said in the vernacular when asked if politics had influenced him in shepherding the passage of the measure.
Villar said having a sovereign wealth fund is not a “new concept” at all as many countries worldwide are utilizing the fund system.
The neophyte senator said the Maharlika Fund’s primary concept is to acquire additional income for the country, attract additional capital for the Philippine economy, and boost the infrastructure, energy, and agricultural sectors.
350K jobs seen
Citing an analysis by the National Economic and Development Authority, Villar said the sovereign investment system under the Maharlika bill is seen to create up to 350,000 jobs for Filipinos.
“The larger the investments, the larger the income,” he added.
Villar said the government will start the first phase of implementation as soon as the law is enacted.
“Of course, it takes some time to form a corporation, but once the Maharlika [Investment] Corporation is formed, we can start attracting investment. Eventually, we will have the income, and at the same time we can help different sectors of our economy,” he stressed.
“I think, hindi naman aabot ng two years (it won’t take two years). I think the national government is ready to implement the Maharlika bill as soon as possible.”
Villar said the other potential benefits from the MIF include capital accumulation, sustainable development, economic stability, financial sustainability, foreign investments and reduction of foreign debt.
“I believe that in the very near future, we will see many investments coming from other countries through the Maharlika Fund,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday called on the public to “not worry” about the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund, stressing that “all safeguards” are in place.
“I am very proud of this measure, I am very proud of the Senate version because of the safeguards that we put in place,” he told reporters in a chance interview.
“I am calling on our fellow Filipinos not to worry because all of the safeguards that we could place, we put them there,” he added.