Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the establishment of the country’s first sovereign wealth fund will proceed and is expected to be operational before the end of the year.

“The concept of the Maharlika Fund as a sovereign fund remains a good one and we are still committed to having it operational before the end of the year,” Marcos said at a briefing on Thursday before leaving for Saudi Arabia to attend the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit.

Marcos made the comments after a memorandum signed by his Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin released on Wednesday showed Marcos has suspended the implementation of the law he signed in July “pending further study.”

Author: Manolo Serapio Jr.