House Appropriations Vice Chairperson and Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo said that the initial funding for the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund will now be around P150 billion after the exclusion of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS).
The proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund bill seeks to grow excess funds from state-run institutions through investments.
“I don’t want to preempt how much it is going to be pero para sa akin, P150 billion, laban na ‘yun,” Quimbo said in an ABS-CBN interview.
“Again, let us start small. Palaguin natin, let us see how much we can contribute to support the national budget, and we’ll see how it goes,” she added.
Quimbo says the decision was meant to allay the fears of SSS & GSIS members.
The lawmaker adds that the decision to remove SSS and GSIS as sources of funds came from the authors of the bill themselves.
Quimbo explained that they based their decision on the results of Monday’s public consultations.
“Yung exact amount ay malalaman natin sa Friday, pero merong mga indicative amounts,” she said.
“Syempre alam naman natin na ang GSIS, at SSS, may investment mandate. So syempre may mga agam-agam na sa nature ng investment na gagawin sa Maharlika fund, kaya mabuti na lang na wag na nating i-compel ang GSIS and SSS na mag-contribute,” Quimbo added.
“At this point, wala naman talagang target amount na kailangan makapag-raise ng 275 billion, kailangan lang ng isang amount that’s big enough to start an investment fund,” the lawmaker clarified.
