In removing himself and future presidents from membership of the board of the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. also eliminated the risk of politicians and political decisions influencing the country’s first ever sovereign wealth fund. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech after the ceremonial signing of the Maharlika Investment Fund Act in Malacañang on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (RTVM screenshot) Speaking during the ceremonial signing of the MIF Act of 2023 in Malacañang on Tuesday, July 18, the President explained the need to remove “political bureaucracy” from the considerations of what the Fund would invest into. “Immediately, I said I am not in favor of having in the original iteration the President was the chairman of the (Fund). Sabi ko (I said), ‘no, you remove us, the secretary of finance, no,’ because inevitably if you put me or the secretary of finance or in a decision-making loop, those desicions will be colored by political considerations and that must not be the case,” he said. “We have to look at any potential investment, we have to look at any potential operation of the fund in a cold, calculating manner. That is the only way that it will succeed,” Marcos added. The signing of the MIF Act of 2023 signals the preparation for its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the creation of the Maharlika Investments Corporation (MIC), which would manage the fund. But Marcos maintained that politics should not be considered in the fund managers’ decision-making. “We removed the political decisions from the fund and those political decisions are left with the political bureaucracy, and the fund is left to be a fund and operating on a sound and proactive financial basis,” he said. The Chief Executive expressed confidence that “we have some of the best economic managers both in government and in the private sector that we can count on to run this fund properly.” By placing “competent” people in the fund corporation, Marcos stressed “that we can rest easy that they will handle the fund properly.” Officials claimed that the MIF would support the Marcos administration’s economic agenda, as well as optimize the country’s national funds by generating returns from investments—foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and high-impact infrastructure projects, and other projects. The MIF would reportedly have at least P75 billion in paid-up capital this year, with P50 billion sourced from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). Originally, Congress’ version of the bill would source P125 billion from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and P50 billion from the Social Security System (SSS). This was struck down from the Senate version of the bill. Instead, the fund would be created using P50 billion from LBP, P25 billion from DBP, and P50 billion from the national government. The contribution from the national government would be sourced from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) total declared dividends, the national government's share of the income of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), properties, real and personal identified by the DOF-Privatization and Management Office, and other sources such as royalties and/or special assessments. Despite the removal of the provision to use pensioners’ funds, sectors fear that the MIF would suffer the same fate as that of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which has figured in one of the greatest financial scandals in the world. Critics also said the country’s fiscal status is not in position to act as source of a sovereign wealth fund.