No! No! No!

It’s all about the Maharlika Wealth Fund these days, sidelining the pompano/salmon fiasco, the onion smuggling (at last weekend’s market, it was P400 a kilo for white onions from Australia, as the smuggled China ones got confiscated, it seems) and the vaccine wastage.

There is a strong chorus from the legislative and executive (except the Central Bank governor, citing very good reasons, but I hope that doesn’t cause him not to be re-appointed when his term ends next year) singing its praises, but there is an even stronger chorus from the private sector, the ordinary folk and yes, even some in the legislature thumbing it down. Count me among the latter, for sure.

I guess it will look nice for us to join the “big boys” and have a sovereign wealth fund to “play” with, but we must face the fact that we don’t have the extra big bucks – and it needs big bucks – to join that game. Gambling my children’s and grandkids’ pensions on a fund that could very easily – and, I’m sorry to say, probably – get frittered away is not the way to go.

There is a very big and serious trust issue with regards to the administration and safeguarding of the fund, and government’s performance in the past – scams and scandals all over the place, year after year, administration after administration – does not inspire confidence.

So let’s add our voices to the many opposing the MWF with a resounding NO! NO! NO! – Mikaela Velez, Muntinlupa City