DOF’s Diokno: Maharlika Investment Fund operationalization seen early 2024

The operationalization of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) is now expected by early next year instead of the initially anticipated December 2023, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Tuesday.

Speaking at the Philippine Economic Briefing, Diokno said the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the MIF are now being crafted and expected to be carried out by next month.

“We can expect the implementing rules and regulations to be available by mid-August or at the latest, last day of August, and then we expect this to be organized by people in the right places by about September,” he said.

“So I think the Maharlika will be (up) and running by early next year,” he added.

Last week, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed the Maharlika Investment Fund bill into law, making it the country’s very first sovereign wealth fund.

In his speech, Marcos stressed that the MIF is a bold step towards the country's meaningful economic transformation as the Philippines recovers from the ill effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"For the first time in the history of the Philippines, we now have a sovereign wealth fund designed to drive economic development," Marcos said.

"Through the fund we will leverage on a small fraction of the considerable but underutilized investable funds of the government and stimulate the economy without the disadvantage of adding additional fiscal and debt burden," he added.

Just last Friday, July 22, Diokno said it is reasonable to expect that the Maharlika Investment Fund would be running by the end of this year, as he said it is “well capitalized.”

“The law says we have 90 days to prepare the implementing rules and regulations. Immediately after the approval by the Senate of the bill, we started the preparation of the implementing rules and regulations,” Diokno said.

According to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, it will take time to process the hiring of the people who will take charge of the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) which will manage the MIF.

“We still have to produce the IRR, we still have to organize the team, we still have to hire and look for people, you know… We need to hire to man this corporation, MIC, with international and good reputation,” he said on the sidelines of the briefing.

“We have to ensure that we get the right people, so we have to expand and search for the right people so we should not be too much in a hurry that we would not be able to vet properly the people who will be joining,” he added.

The law provides that the MIC will manage the funds coming from the Land Bank of the Philippines (P50 billion), and the Development Bank of the Philippines (P25 billion).

The national government will also contribute P50 billion, coming from the dividends of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and its share from the income of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), among others.

Marcos in January touted the MIF in his opening remarks at the Philippines Country Strategy Dialogue in Davos. He also said the measure will fund critical infrastructure projects.  — RSJ, GMA Integrated News