President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) will play an important role in the government’s aggressive push for more infrastructure projects.
Mr. Marcos, during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, also said the government intends to keep infrastructure spending at 5% to 6% of the country’s gross domestic product.
He added that his P8.3 trillion “Build Better More” program “is currently in progress and being vigorously implemented.”
“For strategic financing, some of the nation’s high-priority projects can now look to the newly-established Maharlika Investment Fund without the added debt burden,” President Marcos said, adding that the government currently has 194 major infrastructure projects, of which 123 are new.
Among the projects he specifically mentioned in his SONA were the 1,200-kilometer Luzon Spine Expressway network, the “Megabridges” program, and the North-South Commuter Railway project.
The President Marcos also mentioned the Bataan-Cavite Interlink bridge, the Panay-Guimaras Negros Island bridges, and the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge as priorities of his administration.
Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman meanwhile said the MIF will enable the Marcos administration to expand its financing sources.
“This administration has 194 infrastructure projects amounting to P8.3 trillion. We could not afford to provide funding for all of these),” Pangandaman said in a radio interview with dzRH.
With the establishment of MIF, the government will have another option to fund its infrastructure projects under the “Build, Better, More” program, Pangandaman said.
She stressed that without the MIF, the projects could only be funded through either government taxes, loans, or private-partner partnerships.
“This means we will have another avenue to fund other projects. If we tap the Maharlika fund, we will be able to fill up the fiscal space,” she said.
“We at DBM consider any reform that could expand our fiscal space as a welcome news,” Pangandaman added.
Under Republic Act (RA) 11954 inked by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on July 19, the MIF would be used to invest in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and high-impact infrastructure projects for sustainable development.
The MIF, Pangandaman said, would also allow the government to spend the national budget on human capital development.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan said during the signing the MIF would not affect the proposed PHP5.768-trillion national budget for 2024.
Pangandaman said the printed 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP), which will serve as Congress’ basis for the General Appropriations Bill, will be submitted to Marcos on Tuesday and transmitted to Congress either by Aug. 2 or 3.
She reiterated that the proposed 2024 national budget would focus on priority sectors such as health, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Under the Constitution, the NEP must be submitted to Congress within 30 days after the State of the Nation Address.
The proposed national budget for 2024 is equivalent to 21.8 percent of the gross domestic product and is 9.5 percent higher than this year’s P5.268-trillion national budget.
