MANILA, Philippines – ISINIWALAT ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. na tinanggihan niya na maging bahagi ng Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).
Ang katuwiran ni Pangulong Marcos, kailangan na patakbuhin ito ng competent at independent financial managers para protektahan mula sa political interference.
Sa isinagawang paglagda sa Republic Act (RA) No. 11954, o Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023, sa Palasyo ng Malakanyang, sinabi ng Pangulo na pinanood niya ang pagdinig at mga debate sa Kongreso ukol sa kung paano ang pondo ay pagaganahin, may ilang suhestiyon sa kanya na “to be put at the helm of the fund.”
“And immediately I removed… I said I’m not in favor of having in the original iteration, the President was the chairman of the (MIF). Sabi ko, ‘no, you remove us,’” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos.
“Then, there was the Secretary of Finance, no. Because inevitably, if you put me or the Secretary of Finance in the decision-making loop, those decisions will be colored by political considerations and that must not be the case,” dagdag na wika nito.
Sa ilalim ng RA 11954 o Act Establishing the MIF, ang Kalihim ng Department of Finance ang tatayo bilang ex-officio chairperson at hindi magpapatakbo ng pondo.
Ang mangangasiwa rito ay ang nine-member Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) na ang tatayong chairman ay isang Independent Director.
Ayon sa Pangulo, “the only way for the fund to succeed is to free it from political interference, as the government looks at potential investments and fund operation in a cold-calculating manner.”
Kumpiyansa naman ang Punong Ehekutibo na mahahanap ng pamahalaan ang lahat ng “competent people” na hahawak ng maayos sa pondo, kailangan lamang na ito’y “well-organized structurally.”
“Structurally, we removed the political decisions from the fund and those political decisions are left with the bureaucracy, the political bureaucracy, and the fund is left to be a fund and operating on a sound and proactive financial basis,” aniya pa rin.
“The point being, as long as we manage it properly and I contend that we have some of the best economic managers both in government and in the private sector that we can count on to run this fund properly,” ayon sa Pangulo. Kris Jose
