On Monday, September 18, a petition was submitted to the Supreme Court (SC) seeking the enactment of the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023 as unconstitutional. This legislation, enacted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 18, establishes the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) as its managing entity, endowed with an initial capital of P150 billion.

The Supreme Court was also asked to grant a temporary restraining order (TRO), preliminary injunction, or status quo ante order (SQAO) to halt the execution of RA 11954 immediately, and to hear oral arguments.

Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, former congressman and Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares, and former Bayan Muna legislators Carlos Isagani Zarate and Ferdinand Gaite submitted the 59-page petition for certiorari and prohibition.

They noted that the passage of MIF was hurried, and Congress ignored the right legislative measures required by the 1987 Constitution.

The petition sought to have the Maharlika Investment Fund Act declared unconstitutional, citing three “serious grounds”: “RA 11954 is void because it was passed in violation of Section 26 (2), Article VI, of the 1987 Constitution; the test of economic viability as mandated under Section 16, Article XII of the Constitution was not complied with prior to the creation of the Maharlika Investment Corporation; and RA 11954 violates the independence of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as provided for under Section 20, Article XII of the Constitution.”

They requested that four steps be taken against MIF by the magistrates. These demands are as follows:

-Issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Preliminary Injunction and/or Status Quo Ante Order to stop the implementation of Republic Act Number 11954.

-Giving due course to the petition

-Set oral arguments

-Declare R.A. No. 11954 unconstitutional and void.

The petitioners said it was illegal because Congress hurriedly approved the Maharlika Investment Fund statute due to a presidential certification of urgency.

They also pointed out that errors were committed as a result of the “unnecessary” haste in passing the bill on the last reading, which they claimed is a “constitutionally fatal act in the passage of the law.”

They argued that the creation of the Maharlika Investment Fund as a government-owned or controlled business violated the independence of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas because it did not meet the standard of economic viability.

“A sovereign wealth fund and un-transparent Maharlika Investment Corporation has no place in a country that is still plagued with corruption,” they said.

The P500 billion-MIF will primarily draw its funds from the national government, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and gaming revenue from government-owned gaming operators and regulators.

Recently, the MIF has received a P75 billion contribution from the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, providing the start-up capital and paving the way for operations to begin by the end of 2023.

The lender’s investment was previously settled with the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Thursday, September 14, according to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who is also the chairman of Landbank.

Following this, the Development Bank of the Philippines announced on Saturday that it has also remitted its 25 billion part of the original seed cash for the fund.

Photo: Kodao Productions, Philippine Information Agency