NEDA chief: Maharlika fund unlikely to increase PH debt

The Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) is not expected to raise the national debt, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Wednesday.

“I don’t think (debt will spike). The (capitalization is) just small, PHP500 billion, that’s not really... Besides there’s going to be strategic areas that are also profitable, they will be investing those in profitable areas, projects,” Balisacan said on the sidelines of the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. luncheon forum.

Senate Bill 2020 or the MIF bill, which seeks to establish the Maharlika Investment Corp. as the sole vehicle for mobilizing and utilizing MIF for investments, was approved by the Senate on Wednes- day. The MIF shall have an authorized capital stock of PHP500 billion, with common shares of PHP3.75 billion, to be subscribed by the national government, its agencies, or instrumentalities, including government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) or government financial institutions (GFIs).

FNEDA,

Providing solutions

Printed by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Building, Quirino Avenue, 8000, Davao City, Philippines Tel: (082) 301-6235

Telefax

(082) 221-3601

OLIVIA D. VELASCO General Manager

Columnists: MA.

Raise your hands: who hasn’t eaten fish yet? I think most Filipinos do as fish is the country’s second staple food next to rice.

The poorest Filipinos consumed at least 179.7 grams of fresh fish while the richest consumed 287.1 grams. That’s according to a study commission by the U.S. non-profit Oceana.

We have two sources of fish. Most people think that fish are taken out of the open seas like tuna, mackerel, snapper, rabbitfish, surgeonfish, grouper, blue marlin, pompano, and ponyfish. These are called captured fishes.

On the other hand, fishes like bangus, tilapia, catfish, mudfish, and eel are harvested from ponds, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of inland water. They are raised by farmers through aquaculture.

But still if you mention fish, people always associate it with the sea. What most don’t know is that the fish they are eating these days come from the aquaculture industry, which reportedly contributed 54.15% to the total fishery production of 4.248 million metric tons in 2022.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, aquaculture contributed 2.246 million metric tons to total fishery production

HENRYLITO D. TACIO THINK ON THESE!

Why Fish Farming Is Necessary

in 2022. In the first quarter of this year, it accounted for 55% (545,640 metric tons) out of the 991,140 metric tons total fishery production.

“Given this (contribution), it is critical for the government to give importance to the industry of aquaculture farming, and the House Bills, which intends for the establishment of hatcheries in several municipalities and provinces,” Senator Cynthia Villar, was quoted as saying by The Daily Tribune during a joint hearing by Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform and Committee in Finance.

Villar suggested the establishment of multi-species marine hatcheries in various municipalities and other rural areas. These hatcheries, she said, “are necessary for the propagation of certain marine species to address the country’s dependence on imported fingerlings.”

Fish are considered the “last wild meal” in the human diet. In recent years, the majority of the fishing grounds in the country are overfished.

“Overfishing is the main issue, with today’s fishers ranging farther and trying harder to catch more – but there are more fishers and too few fish,” said Gregg Yan, when he was still the director for Communications for Ocean Philippines.

Where have all our fish gone? Davao Gulf, one of the country’s fishing grounds, is a case in point. In his study, “Assessment of the pelagic fisheries in Davao Gulf,” Jose Villanueva of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) found that 45 to 50 percent of the total fish caught daily by most of the fishermen in the gulf are juvenile – too young, not marketable and, therefore, wasted.

“If this continues, there will come a time that we can no longer catch fish here,” he warned.

Villanueva’s findings confirmed the results of a 10-year study entitled “Strengthening Governance and Sustainability of Small-scale Fisheries Management in the Philippines: An Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management Approach in Davao Region.” It was a collaborative effort of the BFAR, local government units and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region 11.

Now, if the oceans are running low on fish production, the obvious solution is: raise more seafood down on the fish farm, expanding the maritime version of agriculture. Aquaculture is

FRED C. LUMBA SPECKS OF LIFE

“The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.”

DALAI LAMA.

*******

Because it is one of PBBM’s most urgent agenda, the MIF (Maharlika Investment Fund) saw immediate legislative passage, both in the HOR and the Senate.

As media reports said, it was past midnight when the Senate’s majority made a flashy move to approve the controversial bill because it needed to beat the sine die Congress adjournment.

The Lower House has signified its total adoption of the Senate version.

While the incumbent economic managers were one in endorsing the concept, a few sober senators and one or two financial experts threw in their two cents worth of opinion.

Sen. Imee Marcos, the president’s elder sister, said senators should not act in haste to approve the measure but should spend more time studying it.

The vote was 19-1-1 (yes, no, abstention).

Sens. Marcos, Escudero and Pimentel were not able to cast their vote because the trio was not physically present when the voting was conducted while Risa Hontiveros submitted a “NO.”

“Ako, kung minamadali yan, hindi ako papayag kasi malaking pera yan. Mababaon ang ating mga anak sa utang,” Ms. Imee told senate reporters.

There were still amendments being awaited because she said the proposed bill is somewhat crued in form.

Sen. Marcos noted that only when a nation (government) receives a windfall, that would be the best time to create a wealth fund. “I don’t feel any windfall right now, I feel utang,” she added.

Okay, while this is already happening, it might be of consequence that the proponents and even Malacanang itself explain to the Filipino nation why there was a G-R-E-A-T need for the MIF.

What’s in it for Juan dela Cruz nothing new; it has been a source of human protein for nearly 4,000 years, especially in Asia.

In recent years, aquaculture has become big business. One-quarter of the world’s shrimps, for instance, are raised in ponds in 50 countries, with Thailand and Ecuador leading the harvest.

Fish farming is more advantageous than raising livestock. “For every kilogram of dry feed, we get one kilogram of fish meat,” said Dr. Uwe Lohmeyer of the Deutsche Gesselschaft fur Technische Zusammernarbeit (GTZ), a German Technical Cooperation. “This is a far more favorable rate than in the case of say, pigs: to produce the same quantity of pork, a farmer – given the same quality of inputs – has to provide three kilograms of feed.”

It was the Malay emigrants who must have introduced the first fishponds of the Philippines long before the Chinese traders came to the country. “Our fishpond practices in most respects are similar to those of the Indonesians rather than those of Chinese,” said a Filipino marine expert.

Aquaculture species raised in the country are seaweed, bangus, tilapia, brackish water shrimps, oysters, and mussels. Also grown in fishponds are some species of lapu-lapu and seabass.

Mariculture park – similar to an industrial or science park on land – is one of the best examples of aquaculture. In Davao Region, the city government of Panabo established the Panabo City Mariculture Park (PCMP) in 2006 in partnership with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), a line agency of the Department of Agriculture.

“Today, PCMP has been identified as one of the most developed mariculture parks in the country,” says Academician Rafael D. Guerrero III of the National Academy of Science and Technology.

There are several ways of fish-farming methods that farmers can apply. Some of these methods are based on outdoor ponds, some on fenced-off areas of rivers or bays, and some in buildings.

“But virtually all these would integrate fish production with other industrial or ecological activities: growing hydroponic vegetables, recycling urban waste, purifying fresh water, keeping rivers or wetlands healthy,” writes Anne Platt McGinn, a Worldwatch Institute researcher.

What Haunts The Mif

and his family?

Remember - as Sen. Imee stated - we are talking here of money, not just a simple sum but a very huge one that will be sourced from taxpayers’ money.

The details and mechanics are not too publicly known which puts Pinoys in the dark.

Former BSP Gov. Diwa Gunihundo said if the idea is to raise money to build infrastructure and fund government big ticket projects like school buildings, classrooms and housing for the poor, then why doesn’t the government pour the money straight into them as appropriated by Congress.

One word of caution that this corner wishes to convey to our legislators and government authorities: Germany has just entered into recession.

There are fears that a global recession is approaching sparked initially by the two-year Covid 19 pandemic and the ensuing repressive deathly lockdowns.

Just as when Europe, the US and other western countries as well as those in Asia were beginning to recover their poise and sanity, Russia attacked Ukraine that put many countries in peril.

Sen. Imee is correct.

The MIF is not timely. Should the recession now being felt in Germany spread to Europe and thence to the US, Asia and South America, will our economy not be in danger too?

Our currency is attached to the US dollar.

Anytime, the dollar plunges, the peso value plunges, too.

Besides, when categorically asked if pension funds won’t be used to invest in the MIF, the GSIS chief Veloso could not say no.

He merely said they will obey what the law says.

With a litany of corruption stalkiing us from way back (since the first Philippine republic), how can the MIF advocates - with straight faces - say it will be in good hands? No BIG fish has ever been sent to jail for corruption.

Well, at least in Malaysia, they convicted and sent to jail their very own prime minister whose hand was caught inside the cookie jar.

Every senator who voted and approved the MIF should be required to explain his vote to the Filipino people.

Why? So that in case something tragic and amiss happens, Pinoys are able to point the blame on all of them.

The wealth fund is not a joke. As the term implies, it is an investment fund, a portfolio to be used by the government to earn more funds.

However, at this time when there is an on-going war in Ukraine, another war seems imminent in Taiwan and Israel is beleaguered by its enemies in the Middle East while Iran threatens to unleash its soon-to- achieve nuclear power, there is no sense floating the MIF.

Pinoys should observe simple economics.

Find ways to feed the people first. (Email feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com). GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!