Philippines not the only country without a sovereign wealth fund 

Claim: The Philippines is the last remaining country to have no sovereign wealth fund.

The video by YouTube user “JIL Review TV” makes the false claim after criticizing the allegations tagging suspended Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag as the mastermind behind the Percy Lapid killing.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video making the claim has over 2,800 likes, 423 comments, and 41,000 views, as of writing.

The bottom line: In Southeast Asia alone, aside from the Philippines, three other countries have yet to establish a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) – Burma or Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. 

House Bill 6398 that proposed establishing the Philippines’ first SWF called the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) also recognized that almost 50 countries have established SWFs all over the world. There are 195 countries in the world.

The claim was made while discussing the proposed MIF. According to the YouTube video, establishing a sovereign wealth fund was instrumental to China’s success in accumulating wealth.

Heavily criticized: The MIF proposal, however, has sparked many criticisms. Its suggested source of funding had been heavily criticized. The bill initially proposed to source funds from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), and the Social Security System (SSS). On December 7, the GSIS and SSS were removed as funding sources. – Pola Regalario/Rappler.com

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