The Department of Finance (DOF) expects the proposed sovereign wealth fund will be passed into law within the first semester next year despite oppositions seeking to block its creation.
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said on Monday, Dec. 5, said the proposed bill creating the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) could be enacted into law by the middle of 2023 or before the submission of the 2024 national budget.
But the actual operation of the Fund "would take a while, because it will be organized,” the finance chief said.
Diokno also shrugged off criticisms about the MWF, saying the Fund will be well-managed and transparent.
Earlier, the House Committee on Bank and Financial Intermediaries approved House Bill (HB) 6398 on the proposed P275 billion Maharlika Wealth Fund Act.
Under the bill, at least P125 billion of the MWF will be sourced from the Government Insurance Security System (GSIS), and P50 billion each from the Social Security System and Land Bank of the Philippines.
Moreover, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the national government will contribute P25 billion each.
Meanwhile, Wick Veloso, GSIS president and general manager, assured that the pension fund’s hard-earned money from members will be protected, saying investment in MWF is an opportunity to invest and earn better returns.
Veloso added that the proposed MWF has safeguards, and will not the suffer the same fate as Malaysia's infamous 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which was hounded by graft issues.
The GSIS chief said private sector, such as heads of the Bankers Association of the Philippines and Philippine Stock Exchange, are also involved in the management of the Fund to ensure transparency.
House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez filed HB 6398 that called for the establishment of the Maharlika Wealth Fund, patterned after the sovereign wealth fund of other countries.
Romualdez explained the Fund aims to maximize the profitability of investible government assets for the benefit of all Filipinos.
The proposed Fund is patterned after the sovereign wealth funds of 49 countries, including Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and East Timor.
Under the bill, the envisioned Maharlika Wealth Fund would have a governing board, composed of nominees of the contributing state-owned firms, which would be in charge of managing the fund.