It’s More Fund in the Philippines!

CARLO ESGUERRA

The bill seeking to establish a Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) , a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), that the government can use to make investments, has been approved on third and final reading at the House of Representatives.

We completely disagree, this SWF usually uses the excess money that the government couldn’tuse. Let us ask, do we really have extra money? Then why don’t we use it to improve health care facilities and other commodities?

2.9 million Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger based on a survey that was conducted by Social Weather Station (SWS). The government should focus on this rather than a SWF.

According to the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), current inflation rates range from 7.4 percent to 8.2 percent, people are suffering from the effects of COVID-19 and high inflation rates, and yet they prioritize the creation of a state wealth fund.

According to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the national budget for 2023 is nearly locked, and we can no longer afford to insert or realign 275 billion pesos. We know for a fact that there is no surplus in the budget. Rather, we are in deficit.

We know that we have to invest in our sovereign fund, but the economic status does not make any sense. This is not the right time to create such things like this.

It’s no surprise that millions of confidential funds were not properly safeguarded; the opposition is weak. The government should not jeopardize what people have now for a speculative benefit in the future.