President Marcos aims to restart MIF's operations by year end. Photo courtesy of Inquirer.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. announced that the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) would resume its operations by the end of 2023 following its suspension last Thursday, October 19.
The suspension is said to have the intention of making the country’s first sovereign wealth fund “as close to perfect and ideal as possible.”
Marcos stated in a speech that he was "a bit alarmed" over news that the MIF had been postponed before leaving for Saudi Arabia to attend the Asean-GCC conference in Riyadh.
“I was a bit alarmed by the news reports early this morning that I read in the newspapers that we have put the Maharlika Fund on hold. Quite the contrary. We are, the organization of the Maharlika Fund proceeds apace, and what I have done though, is that we have found more improvements we can make,” Marcos stated in his speech.
Marcos added that the Maharlika investment fund continues to be an excellent proposal.
“We should not misinterpret what we have done as somehow, as a judgment of the rightness or wrongness of the Maharlika fund. On the contrary, we are just finding ways to make it as close to perfect and ideal as possible, and that is what we have done,” said Marcos.
According to the President, the Maharlika Fund organization has held discussions regarding potential improvements in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the MIF with economic managers and the whole organizational structure participating in the fund.
Marcos also said before departing for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that the introduction of the sovereign wealth fund to the Middle East is "one of the most vital aspects" of his trip.
The law establishing the country's initial sovereign wealth fund, which the administration argues will strengthen the Philippine economy, was signed by the President in July. However, critics pointed to potential misuse of finances.
The Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023 was challenged as illegal and void last month by a group led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Bayan Muna. The petition also questioned the validity of the MIF law.
The group argued in the petition that the law is a "disaster waiting to happen" because it "entrusts hundreds of billions in public funds to unknown fund managers and an amorphous nine-member Board of Directors."