House appropriations panel drops SSS, GSIS as sources of Maharlika fund
The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations formally dropped the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) as sources for the Maharlika Wealth Fund. dzBB said Friday.
Instead, the fund will get P50 billion from the Land Bank of the Philippines and P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines and 100 percent dividends from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, dzBB said.
Even as the House panel reduced the capital for the Maharlika Wealth Fund, the country's economic managers ''urged the immediate enactment of the bill creating the Maharlika Investments Corp.''
''Ultimately, this will redound to growth and help us achieve our economic transformation towards inclusivity and sustainability,'' said a statement of the economic managers read by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.
The statement was released Friday and was signed by Diokno, Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla.
The establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, according to the economic team, is a “tried and tested investment vehicle” that has been used by governments in both first world and developing countries to achieve their economic objectives.
The economic team expressed confidence that with professionals managing the funds, “there will be efficient use and management of these investible public funds.”
“They will be able to ensure the availability of an alternative high-return investment platform, obtain the best absolute return for the funds, find additional sources of liquidity as the need arises and perform better risk management, given additional layers of checks and balances in the use of investible funds,” the economic managers said. DMS
