NATIONAL Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon has joined the calls to scrutinize the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) while pointing out that the current version of the fiscal measure already has numerous safety measures to ensure prudent use of national government’s coffers.
“We support the calls to study the bill to ensure that risk management is in place,” de Leon said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Upon reading the bill, we note that there are already eight measures that will safeguard the integrity of the Fund,” she added.
De Leon enumerated eight safety measures found in the current version of the MWF bill that includes the “strict” adherence to the Santiago Principles and the provision that the fund shall be governed by all applicable government laws, rules and regulations.
De Leon emphasized that an audit mechanism is also in place to ensure transparency and accountability on the use of the proposed MWF. Besides an internal auditor, an internationally-recognized auditing firm will serve as the external auditor of the MWF, the national treasurer noted.
“Fifth, the Fund will be under the scrutiny of no less than the Commission on Audit,” she said.
“The books and accounts of the MWF shall be subject to the examination and audit of the Commission on Audit pursuant to Article IX of the 1987 Philippine Constitution,” she added.
De Leon pointed out that an advisory body will be formed to assist the Board of Directors in formulating the general policies related to the investment and risk management of the MWF.
The Advisory Board will be composed of the Secretary of Finance, the Secretary of Budget and Management, the Treasurer of the Philippines and the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
“The Advisory Board will be sought for consultation in case of transactions that will affect Balance of Payments and monetary aggregates, especially those which impact domestic liquidity and reserve money,” she said.
De Leon added that the MWF will also be under the watch of a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC) tasked to oversee, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of the MWF. Lastly, she noted that there is a provision in the current bill of the MWF that would “prevent unnecessary” withdrawals from the fund.
“We agree that we need to ensure that all these safeguards are in place for the protection of the funds of the people. However, with the proper safety measures, I believe we should be able to proceed with the Maharlika Wealth Fund as this will ultimately benefit our people,” the National Treasurer said.
Earlier, economic managers and lawmakers insisted—in the face of concerns raised by some experts as well as lawmakers, including Sen. Imee Marcos—that the proposed MWF will not suffer the same fate as the infamous 1MDB fund of Malaysia because it will have enough accounting and transparency safeguards. The 1MDB mess resulted in the jailing of former Prime Minister Najib Razak for corruption in what has been described as one of the biggest money-laundering scandals in modern times. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/12/06/maharlika-fund-wont-end-up-like-1mdb-dof/).