Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno assured that contributions of state-led banks Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in the Maharlika Investment Fund are safe, despite the suspension of the fund's implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
In an exclusive interview with DAILY TRIBUNE on Thursday, Diokno said that the money contributed by DBP and LBP is just in the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) and is earning interest.
Republic Act No. 11954, the law creating the sovereign wealth fund that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law on 18 July, asked the national Treasury that it had 90 days to come up with the IRR for the MIF law.
The law said that LandBank had to give P50 billion and DBP had to give P25 billion. Both the state-run banks transmitted the share to the Treasury Bureau on 14 September. The national government must also give P50 billion to the MIF.
Diokno said that it remains unclear how long the suspension would last. "It could be a week, it could be a month. So, there's uncertainty," he said.
Diokno said that Marcos suspended the IRR to ensure that the process was transparent.
However, Diokno said he did not personally talk to Marcos to ask about the suspension. Instead, he called Bersamin, who noted that the suspension was an instruction from the President.
"As for me, I didn't… Personally, I didn't call him. I called the Executive Secretary because the Executive Secretary signed it. He said it was just an instruction from the President. That's all. There's nothing to worry about," he said.
The Maharlika Investment Fund is a proposed sovereign wealth fund that will invest in strategic assets and industries. It is expected to raise P275 billion from government-owned financial institutions and the national government.
The fund has been criticized by some lawmakers and economists, who say that it is risky and unnecessary. They also argue that the fund could be used for corruption and cronyism.
Despite the criticisms, the Marcos administration has insisted that the Maharlika Investment Fund is essential to boosting the country's economic growth.