Maharlika put on hold to bolster safeguards
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. decided to slow down in launching the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) to ensure that there are enough safeguards in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11954, the law creating the sovereign wealth fund, according to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin. “He wanted to study carefully the IRR to ensure that the purpose of the fund will be realized for the country’s development with safeguards in place for transparency and accountability,” Bersamin said in a brief statement issued on Wednesday. Enacted on July 18, RA 11954 mandated the national treasurer to come up with the IRR for the MIF law within 90 days. The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) issued the IRR 41 days later, on Aug. 28. In a memorandum dated Oct. 12 and addressed to the heads of the Treasury, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Bersamin said that “upon the directive of the President, the Treasurer of the Philippines, in coordination with [Landbank] and DBP, is hereby directed to suspend the implementation of the IRR” of the MIF law. Bersamin did not respond to the Inquirer’s repeated requests for comment to explain further the president’s decision. Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil also did not respond to a request for comment. It remained unclear whether Landbank, DBP, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would return the money they had contributed to the MIF following the suspension of the implementation of RA 11954. The law mandated Landbank to contribute P50 billion, and DBP to chip in P25 billion. They remitted the respective amounts to the Treasury on Sept. 14. The national government is also required to contribute P50 billion to the MIF, which will come mainly from BSP dividends. The President’s directive to hold the IRR for further study came almost a month after the MIF was challenged at the Supreme Court. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said on Wednesday that government lawyers were preparing to defend the constitutionality of RA 11954 despite the President’s suspension of its implementation. According to Guevarra, who serves as the government’s top lawyer, his office has not officially received the copy of the Supreme Court (SC) resolution directing respondents Congress, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, and Bersamin to comment on the petition. “[B]ut we have been preparing our comment since the court’s resolution appeared in the SC website,” Guevarra
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