Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 15) — Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno wants President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent the passage of a bill establishing a sovereign wealth fund.
A letter dated Dec. 13 and signed by Diokno, showed the chief economic manager’s intention to speed up deliberations on House Bill 6608 creating the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).
A presidential certification would allow Congress to fast-track approval of the bill.
Diokno said the proposal will support the administration’s effort to generate jobs, promote trade and investments, boost infrastructure development, and address energy and food security.
He said the MIF would be managed by an independent entity to be called Maharlika Investments Corporation (MIC). He added the MIF and MIC will “comply with the Santiago Principles,” or the generally accepted principles and practices on sovereign wealth funds.
He also addressed transparency concerns, saying the entity would tap an internal auditor, an internationally recognized auditing company, and state auditors to ensure the planned investment trust would adhere to high standards of transparency and accountability.
An oversight committee would also be established to assess the implementation of the MIF.
“The bill provides penalties for erring directors, trustees, or officers who willfully and maliciously violate investment policies and guidelines set by the board of directors,” Diokno said.
Once up and running, Diokno said the MIF would improve the country’s fiscal space and reduce fiscal pressures.
“We underscore that the establishment of the MIF will generate intergenerational benefits, which increases the future generations’ access to income from investments (e.g., potential earnings from extracted natural resources such as in mining),” he added.
