Only opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros stood up against the bill, which Marcos had certified as urgent.
Escudero, who is also part of the supermajority in the Senate, was absent during the actual voting along with Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III and the president’s elder sister, Sen. Imee Marcos. Escudero reiterated that the MIF failed to satisfy the constitutional requirements on the creation of new government-owned and -controlled corporations, the main reason why he did not vote for the measure.He was particularly referring to the “test of economic viability” for the envisioned Maharlika Investment Corp., which he had demanded from the members of the President’s economic team.
The same document, he added, would also have helped Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra defend the would-be law if or when it is challenged before the high court.Escudero, however, admitted that the Constitution did not explicitly explain what the “test of economic viability” should contain. “That’s the problem,” he said. “There was no clear definition for it. So this is a chance for the Supreme Court to clarify this, if ever. It will also guide the next Congress or the next administration.”