MANILA (UPDATE 3) - The newly-appointed president and CEO of the Maharlika Investment Corp on Wednesday denied allegations that the implementing rules of the Maharlika Investment Fund were relaxed to accommodate him.

Rafael Consing said the perception that it was revised to favor him was ‘absolutely wrong’.

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The IRR of the Maharlika Investment Fund released on Sunday relaxed the qualifications for members of the board of directors, which initially required members to have a Master's degree.

• Revised Maharlika Fund IRR relaxes board qualifications, gives president power to reject recommended appointees

Consing said the changes were aimed at aligning the rules to what is stated in the MIF law.

“That came from the legal counsels that were sitting there and what they were saying was that, by putting in those qualifications, it had the effect of amending the law. So what they did was they simply brought it back and aligned it with what the law exactly said,” he explained.

Some economists meanwhile hailed Consing as an "excellent choice", noting his experience even as they acknowledged his lack of a Master's degree.

“I feel like I’m the right person for this," Consing said.

"When I submitted my application, I put in a letter to the advisory board and I described there what I’ve done… My last paragraph was entitled 'Three decades of preparation,'” he said.

Prior to his appointment, Consing served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of ports giant International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

He also previously held managing director roles at HSBC Hong Kong and HSBC Singapore, as well the roles of vice president and treasurer at Aboitiz & Co., Inc. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.

CHANGES TO AUDIT AND RISK MANAGEMENT RULES

Consing meanwhile explained why some changes had to be made the MIF’s IRR in terms of the composition and duties of the MIC’s audit and risk management committees.

Consing, who was also part of the Technical Working Group that gave comments on the IRR, said there should not have been two senior MIC executives in the audit committee as that would put its ‘credibility and independence in question’.

“You have to remember, the audit committee’s role is oversight over the financial operations and financial reporting of a company. If you’ve got two executives sitting there then the audit committee loses its ability to become objective and it will be misconstrued as being, I would say, biased towards management,” he noted.

As for the risk management committee, Consing said the enumeration of specific responsibilities from the initial IRR were removed to follow certain best practices laid out in the Santiago Principles, a globally-recognized set of principles practiced by sovereign wealth funds.

“If you look at the best practices, particularly the Santiago principles, it suggests that the risk management framework must be written by the board risk oversight committee because this risk framework must be based on the company itself rather than coming up with a general set of standards for all companies,” he said.

Progressive lawmaker, ACT-Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, and economist JC Punongbayan earlier flagged the removal of specific functions of the two committees, saying there are now less safeguards against abuse and mismanagement.

Consing also vowed to do his best despite having a term of only three years.

“I’ll give it my best shot. And I’m going to achieve as much as one can within three years. You guys have my word,” he told members of the media.

Based on the implementing rules and regulations of the Maharlika Investment Fund law, Consing has the following key responsibilities as PCEO:

• Establish a diversified portfolio of investments in local and global financial markets and other assets that align with the Fund's objectives
• Manage and invest the initial and future contributions to the Fund
• Accept and manage investment mandates aimed at increasing income for development goals
• Develop and foster skills in finance, economics, risk mitigation, good governance, and related areas, consistent with building human resources capacity in the industry
• Implement international best practices in investing and managing assets in line with the Santiago Principles and other globally-recognized standards of transparency and accountability

Consing also addressed concerns that there might still be pending cases against him which would have disqualified him from heading the fund.

“What you guys find on the internet are perhaps the Supreme Court case that went up but already dismissed 2006 and 2016,” said Consing, without specifying details of the said cases.

• Rafael Consing Jr. named Maharlika Investment Corp. president, CEO

Consing also said he aims to fill key roles in the MIC in the next few days.

“I’m employee number 1. I’m hoping that over the next 30 to 60 days, we’ll be able to fill up certain of these very important roles,” he said.

“We have been receiving quite a number of CVs already so we’ll have to sift through those and see who we can hire,” he added.

The head of the country's sovereign wealth fund meanwhile said he can't guarantee the MIF will quickly turn a profit.

"It’s challenging to guarantee returns right away," Consing said adding that it "takes a bit of time" to generate income.

Asked about his immediate plans for the MIF, Consing said he has identified tourism infrastructure and agro-urbanism as among its four investment pillars.

"Third (is) to be able to meet our, or to be able to meet our energy requirements, and finally, ICT (information and communication technology)," he said.

"If you look at four pillars, the common thread of these pillars of investment is really generating employment and socio-economic development," he said.

For tourism infrastructure, Consing said the MIF board will likely look at what infrastructure projects have been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and will need investment.

"Out of those 38 (public-private partnership) projects that have been identified from the perspective of physical connectivity, there are about 4 airports. Obviously, Bulacan is already being funded by the (San Miguel Corporation) Group, you have already the NAIA, currently going through a PPP in its own process."

"And you’ve got 2 remaining airports that are there. You’ve got Laoag and (Laguindingan)," he said.

Consing said they will also be looking at bridges, roads, and marine connectivity projects that may boost tourism.

The official also said he is keen on more investment roadshows to get more foreign investors for the Philippines's first sovereign wealth fund.

"I’m very happy to follow up with a roadshow and begin immediately the process of fundraising," he added.