Most Dabawenyos dont trust Maharlika Fund

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared he will sign the Maharlika bill into law soon after it reaches his office. Malacanang photo

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 24 June) – Majority of Dabawenyos don’t trust the Maharlika Investment Fund, the results of a survey conducted by the Institute of Popular Opinion of the University of Mindanao (UM-IPO) showed.

The survey was conducted among 1,200 respondents in Davao City’s three political districts from June 7 to 13 “to determine Dabawenyos’ perception and awareness on Senate Bill 2020 or the sovereign investment fund,” UM-IPO specialist Dr. John Vianne Murcia said during Kapihan sa PIA at the NCCC Victoria Plaza on Thursday.

Asked if the investment fund will be “managed transparently and without corruption,” Murcia said at least 59.4% of the respondents believed that it would likely be mismanaged, 34.8% are unsure, and the rest said it could be managed transparently.

He said the distrust could have stemmed from the previous experience of Dabawenyos with the fraudulent investment schemes while others are apprehensive about this measure being proposed under a Marcos Jr. presidency.

He said the timing of the proposal could also be the reason why Dabawenyos don’t trust the sovereign wealth fund considering that the local economy is still recovering from the inflation.

“All of these are socioeconomic and political dimensions of trust, but it is natural among Filipinos, and we need to address that. The government has to ensure that we have intensive information and communication, so that the people would actually think that this bill would lead to something good,” he said.

To overcome the “trust issues,” Murcia added that the government should be able to communicate and explain well to the public how they can benefit from the proposed measure.

He said that the awareness of Dabawenyos about the Maharlika Fund is high, with 7 of 10 or 71% of the respondents saying they are aware of it.

The survey results added that about 60.9% know about the intended purpose of the proposed measure, 21.7% were unaware and 17.4% were unsure at the time of the survey.

Murcia added that “Dabawenyos are divided as to whether the Maharlika Wealth Fund is beneficial, with 40.5% saying that it is non-beneficial, 33.3% were unsure, and 26.1% are certain that the wealth fund is beneficial.

Asked if “Davao City could benefit fairly and equitably from the fund,” Murcia said 18.8% were certain that they could benefit from it equitably, 46.4% were unsure, and 34.8% believed they would not benefit from it fairly and equitably.

Congress approved last May 31 the bill creating the fund, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday he will sign it into law soon after it reaches his office.

The bill was approved a week after Congress received a letter from Marcos certifying the creation of the Maharlika fund as urgent. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)

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