Implementing rules for Maharlika Fund in ‘final phase’ — DOF’s Diokno

The implementing framework to operationalize the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) before the end of the year is now in its final stages, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Friday.

“The crafting of the IRR (implementing rules and regulations) started right after the approval of the MIF bill,” Diokno told reporters in a Viber group message.

“It’s now in its final phase,” the Finance chief said.

Early last month, Congress approved the MIF bill with the House of Representatives adopting the Senate version during the bicameral conference committee meeting.

The Senate earlier amended its version by prohibiting  state pension and insurance funds from investing in the MIF, a provision which is already provided under the House version approved on third and final reading last December.

Malacañang on Wednesday confirmed that it had received the proposed MIF bill. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs had received the proposed measure on Tuesday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had said that he would immediately sign the MIF bill into law once it reaches his office, adding that management will be the key to its success.

Diokno earlier said that the country’s very first sovereign wealth fund will be operational before the end of the year, banking on the optimism that the measure will be signed into law before Marcos’ second State of the Nation Address on July 24.

Citing Section 54 of the MIF bill, Diokno said the IRR shall be completed within 90 days from the effectivity of the law with “the Treasurer of the Philippines, in consultation with the founding GFIs (government financial institutions), shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act.”

“We don’t intend to use up the 90 days,” Diokno said.

Under the bill, a government-owned company - the Maharlika Investment Corporation - will be established to manage the MIF, a pool of funds sourced from state-run financial institutions that will be invested in high-impact projects, real estate, as well as in financial instruments.

The MIF bill states that the Maharlika Fund would be created using:

• P50 billion from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)
• P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)
• P50 billion from the National Government

The contribution from the national government would come from the following sources:

• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' total declared dividends
• National government's share of the income of PAGCOR
• Properties, real and personal identified by the DOF-Privatization and Management Office
• Other sources such as royalties and/or special assessments

Diokno had said that the MIF would have an initial capitalization of P75 billion by the end of the year, which would come from Landbank and DBP. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News