Majority of Pinoys back Maharlika Fund—survey

n By MARICEL V. CRUZ

MAJORITY of Filipinos support the administration’s proposed Maharlika Investment Fund, the non-commissioned Pahayag Quarter 1 survey conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. showed.

Based on the survey, 62 percent of the respondents were aware of the proposed MIF, and believe the fund is vital to improve particularly the agriculture and health sectors.

NCR has the highest level of awareness at 72 percent. The MIF is popular with Filipinos ages between 50 to 59 years old, registering at a high

69 percent and those 60 years old and above at 72 percent awareness.

The survey result showed “improving agricultural production and supply chains (32 percent) was regarded as the highest priority project that should be funded by MIF while funding universal healthcare for all Filipinos came in second at 23 percent and investment in lifelong learning for all registered third at 11 percent.”

Among the least priority projects are the establishment of logistic hubs across the country at one percent, establishing internet connectivity from Luzon to Mindanao at three percent, and the National Railway System expansion outside of Metro Manila at three percent.

Speaker Martin Romualdez earlier said the MIF has adequate safeguards to make sure that “funds are invested properly.”

“MIAA is bracing for a surge in passenger traffic this Holy Week as weanticipate 1.2 million passengers in the four terminals of Ninoy Aquino International Airport over a ten-day period beginning today,” Manila International Airport Authority general manager Cesar Chiong said.

He assured the public that MIAA has sufficient manpower and equipment for the influx, as well as the availability of critical airport utilities, such as electricity, water, air conditioning, and communications; amenities and “malasakit” kits for passengers in the event of flight disruptions; and assistance desks in all four terminals to address the riding public’s concerns.

“We’re prepared. We are doing all of these initiatives in order to give our riding public a seamless travel “(Romualdez) experience here at NAIA, especially since this is the first time that we’ll have quite a long Semana Santa after 2019,” Chiong said.

Romualdez said the MIF has proactive safety checks, including transparency provisions and the requirement to subject the books of accounts of the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), which will manage the fund, to three layers of audit by an internal auditor, an external auditor and the Commission on Audit.