21-7-2023 (MANILA) The Marcos administration has launched a microsite dedicated to the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) amid criticism from sectors questioning the creation of the country’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund. The microsite, which can be accessed through htts://maharlika.dof.gov.ph, contains press releases, statements, videos, and photos related to the MIF and the law that established it.
The President signed Republic Act 11954, creating the MIF last Tuesday, with officials claiming it would hasten the implementation of key infrastructure projects. The MIF, intended to become a vehicle for profitable investments, would help the country achieve its goal of 6.5 to 8 percent economic growth in the medium-term, according to the President.
However, some sectors claimed that the MIF is unnecessary, prone to politicization, and poses serious risks to the economy. Bayan Muna has announced plans to challenge the MIF law’s legality before the Supreme Court, claiming that some lawmakers and the public were not able to read the final text of the measure before it was enacted.
Economist-legislator Rep. Joey Salceda, on the other hand, sees the new MIF law as a way to keep about P13 trillion in investible funds of private corporations that would make the local economy grow as the government tries to recover from the pandemic. “I see Maharlika as a way to keep that money in,” Salceda predicted. “They (top companies) have gross savings of P5.7 trillion. So, basically, they don’t have anywhere to put 63 percent of all the money our corporations make.”
The House official said he obtained the figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Income and Outlay Accounts. “With MIF, investors can outsource those issues to a government-owned company, instead of doing all that on their own. That makes the job easier and the investment less risky,” the senior administration lawmaker justified further.
Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa said his country continues to stand with the Philippines in advancing strategic infrastructure development in line with the “Build Better More” strategy. The provision of 120 new light rail train sets forms part of the “Capacity Enhancement of Mass Transit Systems in Metro Manila Project” funded by the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in support of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project.
