Salceda explains why MF will be a 'massive milestone' for Marcos admin
(MANILA BULLETIN)
The impending enactment of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) will go down as a "massive milestone" for the administration of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. Thus, said Albay City 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda on Saturday, July 15 amid growing anticipation from lawmakers regarding the signing of the proposed Philippine sovereign wealth fund. "It’s a massive milestone for the Marcos administration. I say that with some bias perhaps, being the chairman of the technical working group (TWG) that drafted the law, but I also say that as a finance professional who spent much of my adult life helping move the capital markets," said the economist-solon. "I have called the MIF PBBM’s (Marcos) weapon of mass development," added Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Salceda had a lot of input on the MIF when it was still being deliberated upon in the House of Representatives last year. "Before the Maharlika Investment Fund, the Philippines was the only major ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economy without a sovereign wealth fund or sovereign investment fund," he noted. "We are also among the few major countries with the state banks being dominant players in the financial sector. The other one that’s close to us is Indonesia. So, we have a strong base of investible assets even as we have a massive investment gap," claimed the Bicolano. He also cited as a boon the "highly-liquid financial sector and a cash-rich corporate sector with few options for investment in the domestic capital markets". "You combine all of those facts and clearly, one path forward is to create a development-oriented investment option," he said, pointing to the MIF. President Marcos is expected to announce the enactment of the MIF in his upcoming second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24. The MIF Bill was filed in the House in late November 2022, or less than six months into Marcos’ presidency.