Marcos: Diokno declined Maharlika Fund post

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. disclosed on Friday that former Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno begged off to be part of the team that will manage the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).

Marcos mentioned this during a Palace press briefing after the oath-taking of newly appointed Finance Secretary Ralph Recto.

"We cannot finish this event here this afternoon without sending very heartfelt and warm wishes and gratitude to Secretary Ben Diokno for the services that he has given to the Department of Finance,'' Marcos said.

''As you may remember, he was the governor of the BSP when I first came to office, and he was due to retire in the middle of last year, but I think we all ganged up on him and asked him to please continue as Department of Finance (Secretary) simply because we had to get the economy and our policies onto the right track and and he has done a splendid job as Secretary,'' he added.

Marcos said Diokno told him that managing the MIF was not his specialty.

''The original plan was for us. I asked Secretary Ben Diokno if he would like to join the Maharlika Investment Fund and the management of that, and to also serve as a liaison between the private sector in that capacity, in the Maharlika Fund, as a liaison between government and private sector and the fund,'' Marcos said. 

''But he begged off, saying that this is the investment fund, the sovereign fund, which is not what he feels is a specialty of his, so he will return to his purely financial duties now in the Monetary Board,'' he added.

Earlier, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman also disclosed that Diokno would return to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as a member of the policy-setting Monetary Board.

"We defer to the wisdom of the President on these matters so as the latest appointee of PBBM to the Economic Team, Sec. Recto can expect our full support," said Pangandaman.

She also thanked Diokno, whom she described as “the guiding light of the Philippine Economic Team.” —VBL, GMA Integrated News