The Maharlika Fund will no longer collect funds from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS), Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said late Wednesday.

In a statement, Quimbo said the changes were made after House leaders met with economic managers to reassess the bill drafted by the latter Wednesday morning.

''Based on our assessment of the proposed changes put forward by the economic team, w e are amending the bill to change the fund sources, removing GSIS and SSS as fund contributors and instead utilize profits of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,'' Quimbo said.

Discussions on the amendments of House Bill 6398 creating the Maharlika Fund shall be taken up by the Committee on Appropriations on Friday upon the instruction of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, said Quimbo, who is one of the bill's co-authors.

“It is good that we have made a series of consultations on the bill. The concerns of the public have been validated, especially the hardworking Filipinos who contribute monthly to SSS and GSIS,” said Quimbo.

“At the end of the day, the purpose of Maharlika Fund is to become an investment vehicle where existing surplus capital of the government can grow and reap benefits,” she added.

Quimbo, who also serves as the vice chair of the House Appropriations panel, assured people that excess capital of the government would be invested in projects with high returns.

“As we tackle the bill, we will put in place safety nets that will be the success of this project. We will ensure that the bill creating the Maharlika Fund will have provisions that will take care of the funds of the people,” Quimbo said.

In an ambush interview by dzBB, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, who also co-authored the bill, said they are expecting the measure to be approved on second reading before Congress adjourns on December 16. Jaspearl Tan/DMS