Speaker Martin Romualdez (File photo courtesy of the Speaker's office)
MANILA – Speaker Martin Romualdez and House Secretary General Reginald Velasco have signed the bill creating the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).
Romualdez's office confirmed this development in a message to reporters on Tuesday, adding that the signed bill was transmitted to the Senate on Monday.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri signed the MIF bill on June 21 while on a visit to Washington, D.C. after it was personally brought by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug.
Zubiri said he expects the bill to be signed into law by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. by the second or third week of July.
Zubiri said once the measure is signed into law, the Implementing Rules and Regulations will be prepared by the national government's economic managers and a council, which will recommend to President Marcos the people who will manage the MIF.
He reiterated that the MIF bill was not rushed or tampered by the Senate, assuring that the provision in the measure citing a 10-year prescription of crimes and offenses was properly discussed in the plenary and can be found in the transcript of records.
Marcos earlier said he would look into the changes made in the MIF bill before signing it into law.
Marcos said he wanted to make sure that the proposed MIF would be “well and professionally managed.”
Certified as "urgent" by Marcos, the MIF bill establishes a sovereign wealth fund that will be used to invest in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, commercial real estate and infrastructure projects to help promote economic development.
The bill seeks the establishment of the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) which will act as the “sole vehicle for the purpose of mobilizing and utilizing the MIF for investments in transactions in order to generate optimal returns on investments (ROIs)."
Under the proposed measure, the MIF will not touch the funds of the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), or Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF). (PNA)
