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Pimentel to Marcos: Time to abandon the Maharlika project

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Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Rolando Mailo, NIB-PNA" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/tvpatrol/07/18/20230718-marcos-maharlika-act-pna4429.jpg"/><figcaption>President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs Republic Act 11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act in a ceremony at the Kalayaan Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on July 18, 2023. Rolando Mailo, NIB-PNA</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Senator Aquilino &quot;Koko&quot; Pimentel on Wednesday urged President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to abandon and scrap the Maharlika Investment Fund, saying the government does not have any money to spare to fund it. Marcos has ordered the suspension of the sovereign investment fund&#x27;s implementation pending &quot;further study,&quot; based on a document released by Malacañang. But speaking on Teleradyo Serbisyo, Pimentel said the the country has no underlying asset and surplus funds for Maharlika. The senator was referring to state lenders Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), among the sources of Maharlika&#x27;s seed funding. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/18/23/maharlika-fund-implementation-suspended-for-further-study-palace">Maharlika Investment Fund implementation suspended &#x27;for further study&#x27;: Palace</a></li></ul>Both banks earlier sought regulatory relief for flexibility to comply with the capitalization requirement set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The central bank said Landbank and DBP have requested regulatory relief despite still being compliant.&quot;Hindi talaga pinag-isipan nang mabuti ito... Walang panggagalingan ng pera, maghanap ng existing money na dapat hindi ginagalaw kasi mayroon nang purpose ang mga pera na yun,&quot; Pimentel said. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2848591" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>&quot;Siguro harapin na lang ng executive department ang katotohanan... I-repeal na lang namin ang batas na &#x27;yan para tapos na yan, yang malungkot at masamang chapter sa kasaysayan ng Republika ng Pilipinas,&quot; Pimentel added. Pimentel said the ongoing issues on its constitutionality, possible lack of applicants to run the Maharlika Investment Corporation, and the &quot;worsening&quot; economic situation globally might be among the factors for its suspension. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/06/03/23/the-maharlika-investment-fund-as-approved-by-congress">EXPLAINER: The Maharlika Investment Fund, as approved by Congress</a></li></ul>&quot;Nakita nila mapapahiya tayo dito, pag-launch natin dito, walang participants, walang sinasabing foreign investor na ipapasok natin through Maharlika,&quot; he said. The best thing to do, he said, was for Marcos, Jr to just abandon the Maharlika Investment Fund and repeal it. &quot;Yung pride natin ay lunukin na natin tapos huwag na us manindigan sa mali... i-repeal na yang batas na yan. Let us abandon the Maharlika project,&quot; he said. &quot;Siguro harapin na lang ng executive department ang katotohanan. Medyo nagbago pa rin ang world situation, aminin na lang natin na it is really a wrong idea or bad idea. I-repeal na lang namin ang batas na &#x27;yan para tapos na yan, yang malungkot at masamang chapter sa kasaysayan ng Republika ng Pilipinas,&quot; he said. &quot;I hope that this suspension is just the first step towards abandoning the project itself.&quot; <div>MARCOS YET TO FIND PERSON TO RUN MAHARLIKA</div>Meanwhile, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Joey Salceda said Marcos, Jr is just being careful so the fund would not fail. This includes, Salceda said, the shortlist of the advisory board and the composition of those who would run Maharlika. The lawmaker said Marcos Jr. has yet to find the individual that would lead the investment fund. &quot;The key issue with the IRR of the Maharlika Investment Fund... is that it appears to have limited the options of the President only to those who have submitted applications. Yun lang talaga,&quot; Salceda said, chair of the technical working group that crafted the bill creating the fund at the House of Representatives.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/14/23/marcos-cuts-land-banks-2022-remittance-to-govt-to-zero">Marcos cuts Land Bank&#x27;s 2022 remittance to gov&#x27;t to zero</a></li></ul>&quot;Hindi nakita ng presidente yung pangalan na gusto niyang makita doon,&quot; he said. &quot;The situation is the President is responsible and accountable for the fund and since the CEO is his principal alter ego, imagine the harm. He would like to see the name that he wants to choose. That person is not in the list,&quot; he said. Salceda blasted Pimentel for his comments over Maharlika, saying the law underwent the &quot;crucible of public opinion.&quot; He adds that there was also expert advice from stakeholders on handling the sovereign investment fund.&quot;I was given proper advice on how a sovereign wealth fund or how the investment development fund is being managed,&quot; Salceda said. <div>MAHARLIKA SUSPENSION A &#x27;RELIEF&#x27; - ANALYST</div>The suspension on the implementation of the Maharlika Investment Fund is a “relief” for a market analyst, citing “very uncertain global climate.&quot; Jonathan Ravelas, managing director at eManagement for Business and Marketing Services, said it is best to wait until inflation and interest rates are on a downward trend globally.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/18/23/govt-urged-to-return-maharlika-money-from-landbank-dbp">Gov&#x27;t urged to return Maharlika money from Landbank, DBP</a></li></ul>&quot;You have a very uncertain climate. You already have the Russia-Ukraine war, and then Israel and Hamas. You have the high prices and high interest rates. It’s a challenge to really start a fund at this time,” he told ABS-CBN News on the sidelines of Philippine Marketing Association’s General Membership Meeting.&quot;We’re already seeing the Philippine stock market near the 6000 levels, so we’re already seeing the knife falling. If we are to see the same thing for the global economies, how do you catch a falling knife? I think the prudent way is allow the knife to fall,” Ravelas added.“Let’s wait until the global concerns of rising inflation and rising interest rates. Hopefully, probably until the first half. Let’s take this opportunity to reorganize, organizing the people and study the landscape,&quot; he said. &quot;The key word there is we have a comfortable trend that inflation is really coming down. If you still have war prospects that are there, it’s very difficult to probably see commodity prices eventually going back to pre-pandemic levels or at least 2020 levels,” he said.Ravelas said the government should also reconsider sourcing the initial funding for the Maharlika Investment Fund from LBP. &quot;The challenge of Land Bank is that it will limit their ability to lend to the countryside, and we need to improve our agriculture. They are the ones providing the lifeline to countryside development. Let them do their job, look for another source. They can tap other government savings that they can find… They might want to look into the government’s investment arm,” he said.Last month, Land Bank said it remitted P50 billion contribution to the Maharlika Investment Fund. The DBP, meanwhile, infused P25 billion to the MIF.<div>— with a report from Lady Vicencio, ABS-CBN News</div>

'I hope that this suspension is just the first step towards abandoning the project itself,' says Pimentel. 

Pimentel to Marcos: Time to abandon the Maharlika project

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Pimentel to Marcos: Time to abandon the Maharlika project

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 18, 2023 09:52 PM PHT

Read More:

Maharlika Investment Fund

MIF

suspension Maharlika Investment Fund

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr

Marcos Jr presidency

Maharlika Fund suspension

Koko Pimentel

Joey Salceda

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