Maharlika fund ‘soft launch’ at WEF ‘premature,’ can make Marcos look ‘amateur’ – Hontiveros

FILE PHOTO: Senator Risa Hontiveros at the Senate on Friday, October 21, 2022. (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — It is “premature” to present the Maharlika Wealth Fund at the World Economic Forum (WEF), according to Senator Risa Hontiveros, who also asserted that doing so would only make President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appear amateur.

Hontiveros stressed that the measure that would create the Maharlika Wealth Fund is yet to be passed by Congress, with the Senate still unable to hold deliberations on the bill.

“A soft launch is premature. There is nothing to present. The bill establishing such a sovereign wealth fund has not yet been deliberated at the Senate —  isn’t it jumping the gun to be talking about it in front of world economic leaders? Hilaw ang diskusyon at maraming butas ang konsepto, magmumukhang amateur ang Presidente,” she said in a statement.

(The discussion is not yet ripe, and the concept has many loopholes. The President will look like an amateur.)

“Indeed, it makes sense to talk to an international audience about a domestically-oriented sovereign development fund if there is already a portfolio of attractive projects that have been assembled. But we don’t have that yet,” she added.

Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Marcos would “soft launch” the Maharlika Wealth Fund during this year’s WEF in Davos, Switzerland.

READ Marcos to ‘soft launch’ Maharlika Wealth Fund in 2023 World Economic Forum

Hontiveros also said that the Philippines has no wealth windfall from exports to seed the fund.

For the opposition senator, the country has other issues that should be prioritized.

“Maraming problema ang bansa na dapat unahin. Problemang direktang tumatama sa mga Pilipino gaya ng mataas na presyo ng bilihin,” she said.

(There are many problems that the country should address first. Issues that directly affect Filipinos, such as high prices of commodities.)

READ: What we know so far about ‘out of control’ rise in onion prices

“Sana ‘yung level ng energy na mayroon sa pagpu-push ng wealth fund na ito ay mas higit pa para sa pagresolba ng isyu sa mataas na presyo ng sibuyas, itlog at iba pang agricultural products,” Hontiveros continued.

(I hope that the energy employed to push for the wealth fund will be greater in resolving issues such as high prices of onions, eggs, and other agricultural products.)

READ: Business, consumer groups urge gov’t to act on ‘egg-flation’

KGA/abc