The economic managers of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. defend the creation of a sovereign wealth fund known as the “Maharlika Wealth Fund” in a joint statement.

The joint statement was released on December 9, 2022, by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Central Bank governor Felipe Medalla.

The economic managers told that for the economy to improve in the medium and long term, a Sovereign Wealth Fund is needed to fund public infrastructure projects such as “Build Better More” and other welfare programs planned by the administration.

The economic managers cited Indonesia and Singapore for the successes of their sovereign wealth fund. They assured that the mechanisms of the wealth fund will be executed in transparency and they called for the passage of the bill creating the Maharlika Wealth Fund.

The bill is authored by the “Marcos-Romualdez” bloc of the House of Representatives composed of the President’s son Rep. Sandro Marcos (Ilocos Norte-1st district), the President’s cousin House Speaker Rep. Martin Romualdez (Leyte-1st district), the President’s cousin-in-law Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez (Tingog Sinirangan) among others.

The bill was criticized by the public due to its use of government-owned social insurance and state pensions as an investment fund namely: the Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). The bill was “enhanced” by the Marcos-Romualdez bloc and the Maharlika fund will only use the funds from the Central Bank, and the state-owned banks such as the Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines as an investment.

Source: https://ops.gov.ph/news_releases/pbbms-economic-managers-maharlika-to-fund-big-ticket-infra-in-agriculture-boost-countryside-development/