Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos has explained in layman's terms what the proposed "Maharlika fund" is all about.
Essentially a national sovereign wealth fund, the proposal is embodied in House Bill (HB) No.6398. It has been called the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) and the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).
"What the idea is, is that kapag--when you invest into certain assets, kapag kumikita ka dyan (once you turn a profit), the profit will be used to finance government projects na kukulangin yung pondo (that doesn't have enough funds). So it is essentially another source of income," Marcos said in a press briefing in his district office Wednesday, Nov. 30.
"Sometimes, sovereign wealth fund, they will put their investments in projects abroad or other projects in other countries, doon sila kumikita (they will turn a profit there)," Marcos noted.
"I think the starting fund will be about P250 billion and it will be used to invest in...financial assets," he said, adding that "It will be run like a private corporation."
"Ang ating mga kapitbahay sa ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) ay mayroon na (Our neighbors in the ASEAN already have this)," he said.
"To give you an idea, yung Indonesian sovereign wealth fund, 2021 nagsimula, one billion ang starting investment nila (the Indonesian sovereign wealth fund began in 2021 at one billion) It's called assets under management. They are now I think at 24 . So 23 billion dollars ang kita nila (So they earned 23 billion dollars)," he said.
The House leader said Singapore also has one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world.
"So marami tayong makukuha, pwede nating kopyahin ang model na ginagamit nila para maidala natin dito sa Pilipinas (We can get a lot from them, we can copy their model and bring it to the Philippines)," Marcos said.
"The hope is that we will accelerate the development of our country and accelerate the funding of our priority programs. Six years admittedly is not a long time, so we need to try different things to make sure na ang ating mga kababayan ay makikita nila ang progreso (that our countrymen will see progress)," the 28-year-old explained.
During a Tuesday hearing of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries, representatives from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) unanimously supported the creation of the MWF.
GSIS will provide an initial investment of P125 billion, P50 billion for both SSS and LBP, and P25 billion from the DBP. These comprise the P250 billion start up investment.
Aside from Marcos, HB No.6398 was also authored by Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe, Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo, Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.