Ni NOEL ABUEL
Ipinagtanggol nina House Senior Deputy Majority Leader at Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos at Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ang desisyon ng Mababang Kapulungan ng Kongreso na ituloy ang pagpapatibay ng isang Philippine Sovereign Wealth Funds partikular na ang iminungkahing P275 bilyon Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF).
“Well if you think about it, this isn’t a new idea. Sec. (Benjamin) Diokno already said they were looking at it during the time of [President Rodrigo] Duterte. If I’m not mistaken, former Senator Bam Aquino filed a bill in 2016 trying to do the same thing,” sabi ni Marcos sa panayam ng mamamahayag sa gitna ng Bicameral Conference Committee meeting ngayong araw na tumalakay sa 2023 national budget.
“My guess is because hindi naipasa dahil patapos na ‘yung administrasyon ni former President PNoy. I believe Senator JV [Ejercito] also, nag-file ng bill. So it’s not a new idea,” sabi ni Marcos.
“So yes, it became apparent that the President was in support of creating a sovereign wealth fund but the idea did not come from him per se. Because this is something that has been in the works or something that’s been pushed by not even this administration but past administrations,” dagdag nito.
Ganito rin ang pahayag ni dating Pangulo at ngayon ay Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
“Sovereign Wealth Funds are not new. Singapore, for example, has had Temasek Holdings since 1974 and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation since 1981. There are more than 20 sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East. Even in the Philippines, the idea is not new – then Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino filed a bill to create such a fund in 2016,” sabi ni Arroyo.
“It just so happens nasuwertehan kami na kakasimula lang ng administrasyon so we have six years to hopefully be able to craft a piece of legislation that will see out and go beyond the President’s term,” ayon pa kay Marcos.
“Like I said, I think part of the reason was that, of course, it’s been politicized, but the whole point of this exercise is that this corporation will be free from politics. That’s why it needs to be run by technocrats; wala silang interes sa pulitika,” aniya pa.
Idinagdag pa ni Arroyo ay tagumpay ng anumang pondo, sovereign o pribado, ay nakasalalay sa kalidad ng pamamahala nito.
Sa kasalukuyang bersyon ng Maharlika Wealth Fund, ang Pangulo ng Pilipinas ang namumuno sa lupong namamahala nito.
“This is a powerful statement that the highest official of the land will hold himself as ultimately accountable to the Filipino people for the performance of the Fund. Once the Fund is operational, the President will also be able to count on advice from the Department of Finance, the nation’s steward of sound fiscal policy. Historically, the Philippines has had a good track record insofar as its Finance Secretaries are concerned, so this is a valuable resource that our country can count on as available,” paliwanag pa ni Arroyo.
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