Senator Francis Escudero expressed concern on Saturday that serious procedural and legal mistakes made by both houses of Congress during the passage of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) legislation could potentially render the law null and void.
Highlighting the errors found in the enrolled bill, Escudero emphasized that they go beyond mere stylistic issues and require admission from the Senate and House of Representatives of their congressional blunder.
While the errors can be rectified, Escudero noted that they were in violation of constitutional requirements.
The senator's remarks came after a meeting between the Senate and the House of Representatives, which was intended to produce a bicameral conference committee report on the MIF but ultimately failed to do so.
Escudero called for a chance to correct the mistakes appropriately and urged congressional leaders to reflect on their errors.
“Let us give them a chance to look at themselves in the mirror, see for themselves if there is anything that needs correcting. It will be more painful if someone points out your mistakes, so we’ll let them admit to their mistakes,” he said.
He declined to speculate on the reasons behind the rushed approval of the MIF bill, despite it not being among President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s stated priorities in his State of the Nation Address.
Escudero also questioned whether Marcos had been misinformed regarding the prohibition on the investment of pension and social welfare funds under the Maharlika law.
He expressed his intention to vote against the MIF due to the lack of evidence demonstrating its economic viability.
“The best way that the enrolled bill can be cleaned up or rectified is through a [formal] amendment or a joint resolution of both chambers, but it will be quite an embarrassment,” he said.
Senator Koko Pimentel earlier called on President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. to exercise his power and veto the controversial proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill.
