FORMER Senate President Franklin M. Drilon believes it’s not the right time to create the sovereign wealth fund given the pressing socioeconomic challenges in the Philippines.
This, the former senator stressed in his speech, among other things, as an awardee of the 2022 Arangkada Philippines Lifetime Achievement Award from the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) on Tuesday in Pasay City.
“I understand the overwhelming constraints imposed upon our government and our country by the weak revenue generation, the rampant price inflation, the high deficit, the huge public indebtedness. But, is this the time to venture into a high risk and untested scheme? The sovereign wealth fund for our country,” Drilon said.
He stressed that there are many “potential infirmities” and he’s certain that debates, particularly in the Senate, would take place.
“These infirmaties will be exposed and hopefully our legislators will listen to the more rational voices in our society,” Drilon said.
The former lawmaker thinks the government should first focus on the health and education needs of the people. He called on Congress to consider the basic needs of Filipinos in making rational decisions related to the controversial sovereign wealth fund.
“The call for the moment is to be conservative, focus on the basics especially on the basic welfare, health and education needs of the poor. Optimize the use of our natural resources no matter how small and limited, we build our resiliency for the difficult times ahead of us…and it is in that sense that I am hoping that the debate becomes rational,” Drilon stressed.
According to the joint foreign chambers, Drilon was recognized for his “outstanding track record as a public servant and as a key partner and advocate for economic liberalization and for the improvement of the business and investment climate in the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, in a separate statement on Tuesday, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President George T. Barcelon recommended that the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) be put in the “backburner.”
“Pooling resources from the revenues of the national government, the Central Bank’s and government-owned financing institutions’ may impact on the sustainability of the country’s welfare system and financial standing,” Barcelon said.
The head of the major business group added that “Our government must make sure that no action will affect our presently good credit standing which provides us lower foreign loans.”
Likewise, Barcelon questioned the timing of the creation of the sovereign wealth fund, saying “the timing may not be right considering the uncertainty of the financial market due to the geopolitical situation and recent cryptocurrency fiasco.”
In a separate televised interview on Tuesday, Go Negosyo founder Jose Maria A. Concepcion III said he’s “not totally against the fund” but suggested that it be managed well by people from the private sector who have had a good track record of performance.
“What I’m trying to say is that, that is to me the most important [is the] level of confidence of these Philippine citizens will be much higher if they see that there are really well-experienced [managers] and with great track record ‘no,” Concepcion said on Tuesday.
He recommended that the sovereign wealth fund will be “private sector-driven.”