Maharlika has separate mandate from state banks — Palace

Malacañang on Wednesday defended the mandate of the Maharlika Investment Fund amid questions over whether the P75 billion contributed by two state-owned banks could have generated greater value if retained for lending and other investments.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines have their own developmental mandates, including providing financing to micro, small and medium enterprises, while Maharlika was established for a different purpose.

Its own mandate

“The Maharlika Investment Fund has its own mandate,” Castro said during a Palace briefing.

She quoted its mandate as making “strategic and profitable investments that contribute to socio-economic development while preserving and growing the fund’s value and generating sustainable returns.”

Explained Castro, “Maharlika is intended to mobilize and leverage government capital for long-term investments in strategic sectors and development projects. So that is really the reason and purpose of the Maharlika Investment Fund.”

The Palace official was responding to a question on Maharlika’s effectiveness following criticism that its initial capital could instead have remained with government financial institutions, where it could generate earnings and support domestic borrowers, including MSMEs.