President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said the public should "not misinterpret" the suspension of the Maharlika Investment Fund's implementing rules and regulation as "somehow a judgment on the rightness or wrongness" of the sovereign wealth fund.

The Chief Executive made the clarification before departing to Saudi Arabia after issuing a memorandum instructing the Bureau of Treasury to suspend the implementation rules and regulations of the MIF.

"We should not misinterpret what we have done as somehow a judgment of the rightness or wrongness of the Maharlika fund. On the contrary, we are just finding ways to make it as close to perfect and ideal as possible, and that was what we have done," Marcos added.

He added that he was "a bit alarmed" by the news reports that the government has put the Maharlika Investment Fund on hold, saying that it's "quite the contrary."

Marcos said that the MIF proceeds apace and that the government has "found more improvements" they can make in its organizational structure.

Marcos also pointed out that the MIF will still be operational before 2023 ends.

Marcos also said this was in consultation with economic managers and personalities who would be involved in the fund.

"Their inputs have been very important and we are going to utilize them to make it a better organization," he said.