‘UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY’ | Maharlika Fund part of agenda as Marcos joins summit in Saudi Arabia

October 19, 2023 , 12:20 PM

(October 19, 2023) – President Bongbong Marcos Jr. on Thursday flew to Saudi Arabia to join other leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Gulf States in a summit, where he intends to raise the country’s interests on food security, energy, and trade issues.

Marcos described the first ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) Summit as “an important platform” for discussing various regional issues like the flow of goods and digital transformation.

“It gives us, the Philippines, a unique opportunity to advance our priorities in ASEAN under the ASEAN-GCC framework while forging closer cooperation between the two dynamic regional organizations,” said Marcos in his speech at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay before his flight to Saudi Arabia.

Aside from the economic aspect, Marcos said the Philippines can also highlight the importance of cooperation when it comes to the “enhancement and protection of the rights of course of our overseas (Filipino) workers (OFW).” He plans to also visit the Filipino community during his visit to Riyadh.

In its latest report, the Philippine Statistics Authority tallied an estimated 1.96 million OFWs from April to September 2022. Roughly 23% of these workers went to Saudi Arabia, making it the “leading destination of OFWs.” It was followed by United Arab Emirates at 13.7% and Kuwait at 7.7%.

“I will be meeting with the Filipino community with Riyadh to share with them important developments here at home and to thank them for their invaluable contributions,” said Marcos.

Despite suspending the implementation of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Law, Marcos seemed eager to continue touting the controversial policy in his upcoming meeting with business leaders from the countries in the Middle East.

“The organization of the Maharlika Fund proceeds a pace. And what I have done though is that we have found more improvements that we can make specifically to the organizational structure of the Maharlika Fund,” said Marcos, stressing their aim to make the MIF Law operational before the end of the year.

He added that the latest developments should not be misconstrued as “a judgment on the rightness or wrongness of the Maharlika Fund.”

“On the contrary, we are just finding ways to make it as close to perfect and ideal as possible,” said Marcos. “We’re very encouraged that we are going down the right path.”

Last month, Bayan Muna leaders and Sen. Koko Pimentel III lodged a petition that challenged the constitutionality of the MIF Law before the Supreme Court.

It was filed after the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines remitted P50 billion and P25 billion, respectively, to the MIF as its seed fund.

With the suspension, some groups are pressing that the P75 billion funding be returned to help the banks replenish their capital and avoid sustainability woes. Others are also seeking a complete junking of the MIF Law.

(PM)

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