MANILA, Philippines — It would be premature to tout the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund to potential investors at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland when legislation to create it has yet to be passed, the two-member Senate minority bloc said.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is in the resort town of Davos for the WEF, where the Department of Foreign Affairs said he is set to "soft launch", or introduce, the proposed wealth fund to world and business leaders.
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"A soft launch is premature. There is nothing to present. The bill establishing such a sovereign wealth fund has not yet been deliberated at the Senate — isn't it jumping the gun to be talking about it in front of world economic leaders?," Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Monday. She added the president "might look like an amateur" if he discusses a fund that has yet to be created.
"Indeed, it makes sense to talk to an international audience about a domestically-oriented sovereign development fund if there is already a portfolio of attractive projects that have been assembled. But we don’t have that yet," she said.
READ: Maharlika fund among Senate's legislative priorities in 2023
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III also called the supposed "soft launch" premature, adding that promoting Maharlike before the bill is passed could be a "move to tie the hands of Congress, particularly the Senate, on the controversial measure."
The Maharlika Wealth Fund, which the president supports and which originally included the Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System as fund sources, has raised alarm bells among the small minority blocs in Congress.
Critics of the proposal have raised doubts about whether the fund should be a priority and if it will really help Filipinos but top officials — including House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the president's cousin — and government economic managers have endorsed the proposal.
Hontiveros on Monday said that the country has problems like high food prices to contend with and that ought to be a priority.
"I wish there was more energy towards resolving issues like the high prices of onions, eggs and other agricultural products than for pushing this wealth fund," she said partly in Filpino.
"Instead of focusing our limited resources on the Maharlika Investment Fund bill, let’s debate on legislation that will improve the lives of our countrymen, control inflation and create opportunities," Pimentel said over the weekend.
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