MANILA, Philippines — The government has released the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that will govern the execution of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), the country’s first sovereign wealth fund.
The Bureau of the Treasury issued the law’s IRR a little over a month after President Marcos signed the MIF Act into law on July 18.
“It’s been published in the Official Gazette and the IRR will be effective on Sept. 12, 15 days after publication,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters yesterday.
“The search for the president and CEO (chief executive officer) of the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), two regular directors and three independent directors is on,” he added.
The crafting of the IRR comes after consultations with founding government financial institutions (GFIs) Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
Also included is the technical working group composed of the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Economic and Development Authority, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel and the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations.
The MIF has an authorized capital stock of P500 billion.
Based on the law and IRR, P50 billion each will come from Landbank and the national government and another P25 billion from the DBP for an initial funding of P125 billion.
The P50-billion government share will be sourced from central bank dividends, income share of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., proceeds from privatization of government assets and other sources such as royalties’ special assessments for a period of five years.
Meanwhile, the MIC will be the investment body responsible for the overall governance and management of the MIF.
The MIC is tasked to identify financially and commercially viable infrastructure projects to invest in and will formulate investment strategies covering emerging megatrends such as environment, social and governance, digitalization and health care.
Based on the law, the MIC will be governed by a board of directors with nine members chaired by the finance chief.
Other members include the CEO of the MIC, Land Bank and DBP as well as two regular and three independent directors from the private sector.
Section 14 of the IRR noted that the MIC is authorized to invest in a wide range of products, activities and projects such as cash and other tradable commodities, fixed income instruments issued by sovereigns, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, listed or unlisted equities and Islamic investments such as Sukuk bonds, among others.
“Our non-deal roadshows abroad show that the MIF is being well-received by foreign institutions looking to invest in the Philippines. The private sector will play a huge role in bringing in funds to grow the MIF,” Diokno said.
The MIC may issue all kinds of bonds, debentures and securities, but these will not be guaranteed by the Philippine government.
“The success of the implementation of the MIF hinges on the selection of the best people to oversee and manage the fund and strict compliance with the provisions of the law,” Diokno said.
“This is why we made sure to include all possible safeguards in the IRR, ensuring that all our bases are covered,” he added.
The IRR also listed the penalties to be imposed to ensure the integrity of the MIF and make MIC officials accountable.
The law provides for the imposition of fines ranging from P1 million to P15 million and imprisonment from six to 20 years for various offenses.
These offenses cover willfully holding office while in possession of any disqualification, knowingly certifying the corporation’s financial statements despite its gross incompleteness or inaccuracy, willingly allowing oneself to be used for fraud and failure to sanction, report or file appropriate action for graft and corrupt practices.
National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon, who led the crafting of the IRR, emphasized that the latter is “faithful to the law to ensure that the prescribed procedures and guidelines will lead to its harmonized application.”
The IRR likewise stated that other GFIs and government-owned and -controlled corporations may invest in the MIF as well, subject to their respective investment and risk management strategies.
Those providing social security and public health insurance services, however, are prohibited from investing in the fund.
Diokno maintained that the MIF would serve as a financing mechanism to widen fiscal space, ease the burden on local funds and reduce reliance on official development assistance in funding big-ticket projects.
“We will pursue public road networks, tollways, railways, green energy, water resources, agro-industrial ventures and telecommunications. These critical areas offer high rates of return and significant socioeconomic impact,” he said.
“The MIF can also be used for green and blue projects, countryside development and emerging megatrends such as environment, social, governance and cutting-edge technologies,” he added.