Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said he is willing to sit in the hot seat to explain the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF), also known as the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) to the public "for hours".
He made the statement after learning about the result of the survey conducted by Social Weather Station (SWS) wherein it showed thhat the level of public knowledge about the MWF varies significantly.
During his weekly press conference, Diokno said that he wasn't surprised by the respondents' admissions of having little to no awareness about the MIF, which also shows that 51 percent of Filipinos expect little or no benefit from the MIF.
“Mabuti naman na ina-admit na di nila maintindihan. Mahirap siya intindihin. I suggest now that it's available, you read it,” the Finance chief said.
“I’m willing to be interviewed in-depth… kahit ilang oras [even for hours],” he added.
The poll also revealed that 33% have little knowledge about the fund, while 47% said they had almost no knowledge or no knowledge about it at all.
“There’s so much distrust from the public concerning the MIF, but we can live with it,” the economic chief manager noted.
Assuming that the MIF will be enacted into law before to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s second State of the Nation Address on July 24, Diokno had earlier expressed confidence that the MIF will be operational by the end of the year.
He noted that the bill will be signed "around a week after next [week]".
