Marcos: Maharlika Investment Fund not on hold

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday clarified that the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) was not put on hold, saying the government is still working to have it operational within the year.

"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," Marcos said in a speech before leaving for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to participate in the 2023 ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit.

"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, specifically to the organizational structure of the Maharlika Fund," the President added.

In a memorandum dated October 12, 2023, Marcos directed the suspension of the enforcement of the implementing rules and regulations of the MIF "pending further study."

In his speech, Marcos said the MIF concept as a sovereign fund
"remains a good one and we are still committed to having it operational by the end of the year."

Marcos said the suspension of the IRR should not be misinterpreted as a judgement of rightness or wrongness of the MIF.

"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," he said.

The President also maintained that economic managers and "personalities who will actually be involved in the fund" had been consulted regarding the MIF.

"This has been in consultation not only with  our economic managers but also with the people, the personalities who will actually be involved in the fund. And that’s why their inputs had been very important and that is why we are going to now utilize them to make it a better organization," Marcos said.

Marcos said the MIF would be introduced to Middle Eastern countries as part of his official trip to Saudi Arabia.

Marcos signed into law Republic Act No. 11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023 in July, with the aim to tap state assets for investment ventures to generate additional public funds.

The law creates the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), a government-owned company that will 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.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, along with Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares and former Bayan Muna Representatives Isagani Zarate and Ferdinand Gaite, in September asked the Supreme Court to declare the MIF Law as unconstitutional.

In their 56-page petition for certiorari and prohibition, the petitioners argued that the MIF Law is unconstitutional due to violation of economic viability, violation of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Independence, and violation of the three-reading rule in the legislative process.

In a statement on Wednesday, Pimentel said the suspension of the MIF law's IRR is "a welcome development."

Pimentel previously batted for the recall of the MIF so that Congress could address its "glaring errors and discrepancies." —KBK, GMA Integrated News