NEDA wants Maharlika sovereign wealth fund to bankroll PDP programs
MANILA, Philippines — The National Economic Development Authority expects that the government’s planned sovereign wealth fund will bankroll projects that will help meet targets set out in the Marcos Jr. administration’s version of the Philippine Development Plan.
This is what NEDA chief Arsenio Balisacan told reporters in a Monday briefing for the launch of PDP 2022-2023.
The bill creating the Maharlika Investment Fund was passed by House lawmakers last week. An overwhelming number, or 276 solons, went to bat for the passage of an investment vehicle sought by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“They must go to areas critical to our development as identified in the PDP as well as the sustainability of the fund,” Balisacan said.
Balisacan, along with other economic managers of the Marcos Jr. administration, backed the passage of Maharlika despite public backlash.
As it is, the House’s version of Maharlika stated that at least 25% of net profits from the fund will be distributed as subsidies to the country’s poorest. The bill also mandated that any excess profits should be allocated to social welfare programs and projects.
The bill also stated that the share of the net profits set aside for the national government “shall not exceed the proportion of investments to the total fund attributable to the national government.”
Balisacan added that NEDA will still be assessing how Maharlika will support the national government’s development priorities. The latest iteration of the PDP elaborates on the Marcos Jr. administration's 8-point socioeconomic agenda.
“For us, it’s the consistency of where those funds are invested as enunciated in the PDP,” he added.
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