State of national emergency due to lawless violence in Mindanao lifted

by gabRieL Pabico LaLua Inquirer.net

mANILA, Philippines — President ferdinand “Bongbong” marcos Jr. has lifted the state of National emergency in mindanao due to lawless violence declared during the previous administration, the Presidential Communications office (PCo) said.

the PCo, in a statement on thursday, July 27, said that through Proclamation No. 298, signed by executive secretary Lucas Bersamin last tuesday, July 25, marcos lifted Proclamation No. 55 issued by former president Rodrigo Duterte in September 2016. t hrough successful focused military and law enforcement operations and programs that promote sustainable and inclusive peace, the government has made significant gains in improving and restoring peace and order in the region,” the proclamation stated.

“the lifting of Proclamation No. 55 (s. 2016) will boost economic activity and hasten the recovery of the local economy,” it added. Duterte issued Proclamation No. 55 in view of the lawlessness in the region, as several private armies, local warlords, and even terrorist groups and religious extremists threatened parts of mindanao. the following year, Islamic state sympathizers laid siege on marawi City in Lanao del sur, sparking a five-month battle with government forces. n their experience here is not going to be a detriment. In fact, it is a way for them – they are the most careful of all – they will not invest if they see this will be similar to what happened here,” the president told filipino journalists at a press conference at the eQ hotel here. so, as long as you can assure them that what their poor experience here – the terrible things that happened here – will not happen with our fund,” he said. the president said he reassured malaysian business leaders that maharlika would be free from “undue political influence.” accounts. made it is left to those financial managers that we will be putting into place,” he said. the provincial government of Bulacan has suspended work in government offices. (With reports from ric Sapnu, rudy Santos, Jun Elias, Artemio Dumalo, Gilbert Bayoran, Michael Punongbayan, ramon Efren Lazaro, Ghio ong)

“If you remember I am consistently saying it is going to be run professionally and without undue political influence. o f course, the government has an interest in the fund so we have a representative on the board, but on the day-to-day decisions as to what investments would be

“With that assurance, I think the assumption is that everyone has learned the lessons from what happened with one of their own sovereign funds – will do everything they can to avoid falling into the same situation,” the president added.

The 1MDB scandal was a large-scale corruption and money laundering conspiracy in 2015 that involved then-prime minister Najib r azak transferring over 2.67-billion m alaysian ringgit from m alaysia’s sovereign wealth fund to his personal bank marcos signed on July 18 the maharlika Investment fund Act of 2023. It is expected to have at least P75 billion in paid-up capital this year, with P50 billion sourced from Land Bank of the Philippines and P25 billion from Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). the fund will be invested in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixedincome instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and highimpact infrastructure projects, and projects related to sustainable development. n