Rafael D. Consing, Jr. has been named as the chief executive officer (CEO) and president of the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC). — COURTESY OF THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter 

THE NEWLY APPOINTED chief of the Philippines’ first sovereign wealth fund on Tuesday dismissed noise about his qualifications, saying lawsuits filed against him years ago had all been dismissed. 

“All cases filed against me have been dismissed,” Rafael D. Consing, Jr., chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Maharlika Investment Corp., said in a statement released by the presidential palace. 

Economists said a two-decade-old fraud lawsuit that the Supreme Court decided against him could tarnish the reputation of the sovereign wealth fund. 

“Mr. Consing will have to confront specific concerns on his fitness to lead the nation’s first sovereign wealth fund,” Terry L. Ridon, a lawyer who started InfraWatch PH, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. 

To protect the integrity of the multibillion-peso fund, he should say that the cases “clearly had no basis in both fact and law, as various court cases can be dismissed on mere procedural grounds,” he added. 

Mr. Consing in 2000 faced a lawsuit for estafa before an Imus, Cavite regional trial court. The case reached the Supreme Court, which in 2013 ruled against the former banker.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. earlier named Mr. Consing, his adviser on investments and economic affairs, head of Maharlika Investment Corp. 

A Palace statement described Mr. Consing as “well-versed in global corporate governance and has had a successful transition from regional investment banking to senior corporate management and government advisory.” 

Under the law that created the Maharlika fund, people convicted of a crime punishable with more than six years in jail or those found administratively liable for offenses involving fraud are barred from becoming board members of the Maharlika fund.  

Also barred are people with a pending administrative, civil or criminal case involving fraud, plunder, corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, or similar crimes involving fund misuse. 

“If you were an investor, would you put your money in a place run by people who were accused of fraud?  Of course, not,” Leonardo A. Lanzona, who teaches economics at the Ateneo de Manila University, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. 

He said the President should not have been empowered to choose the composition of the Maharlika board. “Unlike the Supreme Court and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the MIC is not part of the government.” 

Before Mr. Consing’s appointment, Mr. Marcos suspended the enforcement of the law supposedly to ensure there were enough safeguards. 

The revised implementing rules were released at the weekend, removing requirements for the holder of the post now assumed by Mr. Consing to have an advanced degree in finance, economics, business administration or a related field from a reputable university. 

Enrico P. Villanueva, a senior lecturer of money and banking at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, said it “would have been better from a corporate governance perspective if the board of directors had been selected and approved first.”

“From their ranks, a director or two can be recommended as CEO,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “This way, the CEO is beholden to the board, as should be the case in corporations, and not to the President who directly appointed him.” 

Some economists have said the ruled had failed to address risks concerning the financial stability of contributing state banks — the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK). 

Under the law that created the wealth fund, DBP and LANDBANK must contribute P25 billion and P50 billion, respectively, to the fund’s seed capital. The two state lenders remitted the funds to the Bureau of the Treasury in September. 

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