Marcos says Maharlika fund IRR finalized

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Monday that the implementing rules and regulations of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) have been finalized, weeks after he said its implementation was suspended.

"The Investment Rules and Regulations of Maharlika Investment Fund have been finalized," Marcos said on Instagram.

"Upon our approval, we'll swiftly establish the corporate structure, getting the MIF up and running," he added.

The IRR, which would spell the beginning of MIF's operationalization, was released in August. Marcos announced the suspension of its implementation "pending further study" on October 18.

Before leaving for Saudi Arabia last month, Marcos clarified that the MIF was not put on hold, saying the government was still working to have it operational within the year.

"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 had said.

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

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

Marcos signed into law Republic Act No. 11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) 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.

Under the law, the initial capitalization of the MIF would be sourced from Landbank at P50 billion, DBP at P25 billion, and the national government at P50 billion.

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

• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' total declared dividends
• National government's share from 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

Under the law, the MIF has an authorized capital stock of P500 billion. —KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News