Maharlika fund ‘Express’ completes its run By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
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HE House of Representatives on Wednesday went to a sine die adjournment with the adoption of the Senate version of the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), a priority measure of the Marcos administration. Both the House and the Senate end this week the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress. The adoption of the Senate version was decided during a prebicameral meeting between members of the Congress on Wednesday, just hours after the Senate, voting 19-0-0, approved on second and on third reading,
NATO TO SEND 700 MORE TROOPS TO KOSOVO TO HELP QUELL VIOLENT PROTESTS
in quick succession, the MIF bill certified by the President. Critics slammed the quick passage of the bill, with Akbayan Party calling it the “largest investment scam” of the country. Economic managers, however, all defended the MIF measure as necessary to hasten Philippine economic progress and reduce poverty. With the bicameral conference committee’s adoption of the Senate version, the bill will now be transmitted to the President for signature. House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda, a member of the Maharlika bicameral committee, said the MIF is the first but “it does not have to be the last sovereign wealth
fund (SWF) that the government can create.” “ The House has decided to adopt the Senate version, so that the Executive can begin crafting the rules and regulations – which no doubt will be as significant as the law itself. We expect the President to announce that he has signed it by SONA,” he said, referring to the State of the Nation Address in late July. As promised, Salceda said the MIF will not touch the funds of the SSS, GSIS, Philhealth, or HDMF. “We are thankful for the Senate for retaining most of the accountability and transparency safeguards established by the House,” he added. To refine the implementation,
Salceda said he raised some points that “I hope can be addressed by the Executive.” Salceda said he suggested that the government allow multilateral financing institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to be strategic partners with a stake in the founding of the MIF. “These banks bring in not only capital, but also experience, institutional expertise, and international credibility to the Fund,” he said. “I also suggested that we make a provision for listing in the stock market. The Senate version, which we adopted, can allow for that in See “Maharlika,” A2
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PHL DEBT HITS NEW HIGH OF P13.91T AT END-APRIL n
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas
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HE Philippines’s outstanding debt has climbed to P13.911 trillion, the highest in the country’s history, on the back of more external borrowing worsened by the depreciation of the local currency, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). The country’s outstanding obligations as of end-April rose by 9 percent from the P12.763 trillion recorded in the same month last year, based on Treasury data. Likewise, it was P54.24 billion higher than the P13.856-trillion debt registered in March, Treasury data also showed. “[National Government] outstanding debt increased by P54.24 billion or 0.4 percent from the previous month due to the net issuance of external debt and local currency depreciation against the US dollar,” the Treasury said. R iza l Commercia l Bank ing Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the latest outstanding debt of the country “reflects” the “need” to finance “wider” budget deficits in recent months. “Higher prices/inflation...also fundamentally increased/bloated government ex penditures, higher interest rates/financing See “Debt,” A2
GSIS ANNIVERSARY President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. joins the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in celebrating on Wednesday (May 31, 2023) its 86th anniversary in Pasay City, where he also led the inspection of the GSIS Kadiwa para sa Manggagawa at the GSIS head office. Joining him are (from left) GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso, Pasay City Mayor Imelda “Emi” Calixto-Rubiano, and Acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees Rodolfo G. del Rosario Jr. The GSIS was among six entities excluded, in the final version of the Maharlika Investment Fund bill, from contributing to the MIF. REY BANIQUET/PNA
POLL: GEN Z WORKERS SEEK TRAINING, BALANCE, GOOD PAY By Andrea E. San Juan
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LOBAL thought leader in talent research and employer branding Universum revealed in its latest annual global talent insight report that Filipino Gen Zs prioritize employers who are able to offer training and development, a conducive work environment and high future earnings. T he Phi lippine por tion of t he Un iversu m Ta lent Sur vey 2023 polled 5,698 students from 103 universities from November 2022
to March 2023. T he Universu m su r vey showed the future talent pool prioritizes employers that offer professional training and development and have a friendly work environment with flexible conditions. In fact, the survey showed 82 percent said they are interested in exploring remote work opportunities. Nonetheless, respondents acknowledge the challenges that come with a remote work setup: 46 percent of the See “Gen Z,” A2
NGCP cites progress in power transmission By Lenie Lectura
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HE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) better manages the country’s power transmission system than when it was being run by the government from 2000 to 2008, the grid operator asserted on Wednesday. The NGCP’s overall performance in operating the grid from 2009 to 2022 was significantly better as indicated by improved performance indicators. Among the key indicators is the Frequency of Tripping (FOT), which measures the number of
times high-voltage transmission lines tripped or experienced forced outages for every 100 circuit kilometers (ckm). NGCP’s performance, it said, showed a significant decrease in tripping incidents across all three major island grids. In Luzon, the average FOT has gone down from 6.4732 in 20002008 to 1.3386 in 2009-2022, from 6.6530 to 0.9508 in Visayas, and from 8.0788 to 1.3285 for Mindanao. NGCP also improved the grid’s capability to mitigate the impact of power interruptions on overall See “NGCP,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.2600 n JAPAN 0.4025 n UK 69.8580 n HK 7.1817 n CHINA 7.9477 n SINGAPORE 41.6586 n AUSTRALIA 36.6534 n EU 60.3951 n KOREA 0.0426 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.0027 Source:
BSP (31 May 2023)