Arroyo: Marcos ultimately accountable for proposed Maharlika Investment Fund

Former president and House Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Arroyo on Monday said President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is the ultimate person accountable for the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) or sovereign wealth fund.

Arroyo was referring to House Bill 6398 wherein a P250 billion capital for the MIF will come from state financial institutions, and P25 billion from the National Treasury. Other contributions will come from BSP and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, among others.

“The success of any fund, sovereign or private, lies in the quality of its management.  In the current version of the Maharlika Wealth Fund, the President of the Philippines chairs its governing Board,” Arroyo said.

“This is a powerful statement that the highest official of the land will hold himself as ultimately accountable to the Filipino people for the performance of the Fund,” she added.

Once the Fund is operational, Arroyo said Marcos can also count on the advice from the Department of Finance (DOF) which is headed by Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

“Historically, the Philippines has had a good track record insofar as its Finance secretaries are concerned, so this is a valuable resource that our country can count on as available,” she added.

Lastly, Arroyo said the government will always have funds to invest such as financial assets of government financial institutions (GFIs) or the reserves of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

“The Fund is seeded by investible funds from GFIs that they would invest, anyway, in order, ideally, to maximize returns and generate funds that contribute to or supplement the financial resources at the disposal of the government for programs and projects that benefit the Filipino people. Second, the Fund will have an established mechanism for future contributions,” she said.

Arroyo said the MIF will also benefit from a centralized, specialized, and accountable management and in essence, be housed in what can be thought of as a special purpose vehicle.

“Thus, its operations can more transparently be observed, tracked, and monitored, not just domestically, but by the international financial community as well,” she added.

But for Komunidad ng Pamilya, Pasyente at Persons with Disabilities (P3PWD) party-list, having President Marcos as the chair of the Maharlika fund is what makes the proposal dangerous, and that taking capital of the MIF from Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS) is not allowed under existing laws.

“GSIS and SSS charters state that it is for the insurance of workers once they retire or become disabled. Why get our money for the capital of this fund for some high falutin [supposed] investment worldwide/abroad?” Guanzon said in an ANC interview.

“Even Norway, which has the biggest amount of sovereign fund, lost $174 billion this year. But they have North Sea oil [to profit from]. Tayo? Ano ang  meron tayo [to offset a possible loss]? Hindi nga makabayad ang GSIS and SSS ng pension and other benefits on time,” she added.

Guanzon said if the government wants such sovereign wealth, they should instead fund it by the national budget or the Marcos family should pay their outstanding estate tax worth P203 billion.

“GSIS and SSS are insurance, and insurance systems anywhere are very strict and conservative on what they can do with the fund,” she said.

“This government would create wealth for them? Trust is a major issue. They even placed the President as chair of the fund because of political capital. The son of Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi chaired such sovereign fund, and look what happened to them," Guanzon added.—Llanesca T. Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News