Maharlika Corp. yet to craft guidelines for hiring of employees

More than a year after the law creating the Maharlika Investment Fund was enacted, the corporate entity which manages it has yet to establish guidelines for the hiring of employees.

This was reported during the continuation of the Senate plenary budget deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel asked for updates on the status of the Maharlikha Investment Corporation (MIC).

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, who defends the budget of the Governance Commission for Government Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations (GCG), said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has already approved 44 positions in the MIC, including the position of the president and CEO last Nov. 7.

"As directed, this GCG and Maharlika Investment Corporation will be crafting guidelines for the hiring of guidelines for the hiring of highly technical positions. As of this date, the Maharlika Investment Corporation has not yet submitted its proposed guidelines for evaluation of GCG," Estrada said.

Pimentel noted the slow pace in establishing the MIC. According to its website, the MIC is mandated to act as the sole vehicle for the purpose of mobilizing and utilizing the MIF for investments in transactions in order to generate optimal returns on investments (ROIs).

"Mabagal ang kilos ng Maharlika, no? Siguro they are really experiencing birth pains," said Pimentel, who opposed the creation of the MIC.

(Maharlikha is slow to move, right? Maybe they are really experiencing birth pains.)

Pimentel is among the petitioners who questioned the MIF before the Supreme Court.

In July 2023, Marcos signed the MIF into law, which will tap state assets for investment ventures to generate additional public funds.

Pimentel previously batted for the recall of the MIF so that Congress could address its "glaring errors and discrepancies."

This is not the first time that issues related to the MIC were raised in the budget deliberations for the 2025 national budget.

During the budget deliberations on the Department of Energy's proposed 2025 budget, it was discussed that the MIC has yet to provide concrete plans for its supposed investments in the country's energy sector.

In May, MIC president and chief executive officer Rafael Consing Jr. said the wealth fund manager is concentrating its planned energy sector investments on developing the transmission and distribution infrastructure of the country's off-grid islands. — VDV, GMA Integrated News