MANILA
\nPhilippine lawmakers approved the creation of an $8.9 billion sovereign wealth fund on Wednesday to boost growth and cut poverty, but critics insisted it was a \u201cscam\u201d and should be scrapped.
\nPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr had called for a swift passage of the bill, filed by his son and cousin late last year, to enable the debt-laden government to earn extra funds to finance infrastructure projects.
\nThe national government will be the biggest contributor to the 500-billion-peso \u201cMaharlika Investment Fund,\u201d drawing seed funds from the central bank, gaming revenue, and two government-owned banks.
\nPrivate financial institutions and corporations will also be allowed to invest.
\nHouse of Representatives deputy speaker Aurelio Gonzales declared the Senate\u2019s version of the bill approved during a session. It will be sent to Marcos to be signed into law.
\nThe original proposal was for a $4.9 billion fund that would be partly bankrolled by state-run pensions for government and private sector workers, sparking public fears that retirement savings could be put at risk.
\nThe final version of the bill said pension funds would not have to contribute.
\n\u201cI assure our countrymen they need not worry. All the safeguards that could be put in were put in place,\u201d Senate President Miguel Zubiri told reporters.
\nSenator Mark Villar, the main author of the Senate bill, said the fund would create infrastructure projects, resulting in stronger growth, more jobs and reduced poverty.
\n\u201cThis would help the government manage its budget and mitigate fiscal pressures during economic downturns,\u201d Villar said in a statement Tuesday.
\nThe fund will be allowed to make a wide range of investments, including in corporate bonds, equities, joint ventures and infrastructure projects.
\nActivists and opposition figures have questioned the need for a sovereign wealth fund in the poverty-plagued country and raised concerns about the potential for corruption.
\nBusiness groups have said the government was already running huge budget deficits and the proposed law risked downgrading its credit rating.
\nConventional sovereign wealth funds are seeded by windfall government profits from natural resources, such as oil or minerals.
\nThe left-wing Akbayan Party said Wednesday the measure was \u201cthe country\u2019s largest investment scam\u201d and warned the public to \u201cremain vigilant.\u201d
\n\u201cThis bill shouldn\u2019t even exist,\u201d the party said in a statement.
\n\u201cSafeguards may be in place now, but a law is only as good as its execution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANILA Philippine lawmakers approved the creation of an $8.9 billion sovereign wealth fund on Wednesday to boost growth and cut poverty, but critics insisted it was a \u201cscam\u201d and should be scrapped. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr had called for a swift passage of the bill, filed by his son and cousin late last year, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-334647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n