THE Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) is expected to be operational by early 2024, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said.
“Immediately after the approval by the Senate of the bill, we started the preparation of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), so we expect the IRR to be available by mid-August or, at the latest, last day of August,” Mr. Diokno said in a briefing on Tuesday.
“We expect (to) appoint people in the right places by around September and so I think the Maharlika will be off and running by early next year,” he added.
The MIF law was signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. last week.
Speaking separately to reporters, the government’s chief economic planner Arsenio M. Balisacan said that the appointment process for the board overseeing the fund should not be rushed.
“It’s already July, we still have to produce the IRR and organize the team. We have to ensure that we get the right people. We should not be in too much of a hurry to rush the vetting of the people who will be joining. It’s a matter of organizing. It’s almost August, how many more months left before the end of the year?” according to Mr. Balisacan, who is the secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority.
The Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) is tasked with managing the fund. It will be led by a nine-member board of directors.
The board is led by the Secretary of Finance, who will chair the board in an ex-officio capacity.
The board will also consist of the president and chief executive officer of the MIC, the president and chief executive officer of the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, as well as two regular directors and three independent directors from the private sector.
During his second State of the Nation Address, Mr. Marcos said that the MIF will be guided by “principles of transparency and accountability.”
He also said that the MIC board will be composed of a group of “internationally recognized economic managers” in order to ensure “sound financial management.”
“This guarantees that investment decisions will be based on financial considerations alone, absent any political influence,” Mr. Marcos said.
“The funds for the social security and public health insurance of our people shall remain intact and separate,” he added, referring to the original plan while the law was being proposed to tap capital from the major government pension funds. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
