Padilla wants version of Maharlika Fund law written in Filipino language

Senator Robin Padilla on Wednesday pushed for a version of the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Act in Filipino language.

Before the Senate passed the MIF bill on second and third reading, Padilla asked the body to include a provision in the bill which will require a Filipino translation of the law, in order for ordinary Filipinos to understand the measure.

"Magmula kaninang umaga, marami na po tayong kababayang nandiyan sa labas at sila nagpoprotesta at sa kanila pong sinasabi hindi nila naintindihan ang atin pong panukala na Maharlika bill. Kanina din pong tanghali meron tayong bisitang barangay captain. Nang sinabi po natin sa kanila tungkol sa Maharlika bill na ito, ating panukala, sila po ay (nagsabi), di namin naintindihan ‘yan,” he said while proposing the amendment to his colleagues.

(Since Tuesday morning, I saw many people outside the Senate holding protest and saying that they do not understand the bill. At noon Tuesday, I met with barangay captains who also said they do not understand it.)

Under Padilla's amendment to the bill's section on the right to freedom of information of the public: "All documents of the MIF (Maharlika Investment Fund) and MIC (Maharlika Investment Corp.) shall be open, available, and accessible to the public in both English and Filipino."

Padilla cited Section 6, Article 14 of the 1987 Constitution which states that the government "shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system."

The amendment was accepted by Senator Mark Villar, the main proponent of the MIF bill in the Senate.—AOL, GMA Integrated News