The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) has raised alarm over the planned ₱3.6 billion buy-in of the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) in Asian Terminals Incorporated (ATI), warning that the deal undermines constitutional safeguards, weakens public accountability, and risks turning the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) into a subsidy mechanism for private corporations.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ATI confirmed that MIC offered to acquire up to 101.19 million common shares at a fixed price of ₱36 per share. The transaction would trigger ATI’s voluntary delisting from the local bourse.
BAYAN argued that the fixed-price acquisition will primarily benefit ATI’s private shareholders while transferring financial risks to the public. Once delisted, ATI would no longer be bound by the PSE’s disclosure and governance rules, reducing transparency over its operations.
“This buy-in consolidates and protects ATI’s private shareholders while shielding them from public scrutiny and accountability,” BAYAN said. “MIC will plunk in ₱3.6 billion in public funds in a private company in which it will have no controlling stake, no role in operations, nor guaranteed income. At a time when government is cutting down on ayuda for the poor, it is giving away money to the rich.”
ATI manages and operates critical port facilities including the Manila South Harbor, Manila Inland Clearance Depot, Port of Batangas, Batangas Supply Base, and Tanza Barge Terminal. It also owns a 35.71 percent stake in South Cotabato Integrated Port Services Inc., which operates the Makar Wharf in General Santos City.
Given the central role of these ports in trade, pricing of goods, and national security, BAYAN stressed that the Constitution empowers the State to own, control, and regulate enterprises imbued with public interest. “The buy-in is contrary to this mandate,” the group said, warning that public funds will be used to absorb private risk while private entities retain control.
The ATI deal is not the first controversial investment by MIC. BAYAN pointed to MIC’s ₱4.42 billion bridge loan to Makilala Mining Company and its ₱19.7 billion investment in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), both privately-owned corporations.
“These transactions reveal a disturbing pattern,” BAYAN noted. “From being touted as a vehicle for national development, the Maharlika Investment Fund is now exposed as a vehicle for subsidizing privatization, lining private pockets with public funds.”
The Maharlika Investment Fund was initially promoted by the Marcos Jr. administration as a sovereign wealth fund that would finance infrastructure, spur economic growth, and strengthen national development. Critics, however, have consistently warned of weak safeguards, lack of transparency, and the risk of politicization.
Economists and civil society groups have questioned the wisdom of channeling billions of pesos into private ventures without clear guarantees of returns, especially at a time when the government is cutting back on social services and struggling to address poverty.
BAYAN urged Congress and the public to scrutinize the ATI buy-in and demand accountability from MIC and the Marcos Jr. administration. “This is not investment for the people. This is a bailout for private corporations at the expense of taxpayers,” the group said.
The controversy underscores growing doubts about the Maharlika Investment Fund’s role in national development. Instead of serving as a tool for inclusive growth, critics warn it risks becoming a mechanism for funneling public money into private hands, eroding public trust in government financial institutions. (ZIA LUNA)
