Eight out of 10 Filipinos said they are satisfied with President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, an independent pollster said Sunday.
In its second-quarter survey, the Social Weather Stations found that 78 percent of those polled were satisfied, while 13 percent were dissatisfied with the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
The latest survey result recorded a net satisfaction rating of +65, classified by SWS as “very good.” It was one point above the very good +64 net satisfaction rating in March 2018.
Net satisfaction was lowest in the Visayas, which experienced a 12-point drop from the very good +69 in March 2018, to +57 in June 2018.
Net satisfaction was highest in Mindanao, increasing by three points from the excellent +81 in March to +84 this June.
In Metro Manila, net satisfaction rose two points, from the very good +65 in March, to +67 in June.
It also increased by five points in Balance Luzon, from the very good +53 in March, to +58 in June.
The Palace on Sunday welcomed the latest SWS survey, saying the results speak of the public’s support for the campaign, which has drawn heavy criticism from human rights groups.
“This is a testament that the drug war continues to enjoy the broad support of our people, notwithstanding the efforts of the detractors and critics of the administration to politicize the issue or discredit the campaign’s success,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque in a statement Sunday afternoon.
“Filipinos aspire for a crime-free society which can be realized by stopping the spread of criminality and fighting the scourge of drugs,” he added.
At the same time, Roque said the President did not order the arrest of loiterers, as loitering did not constitute a crime.
The SWS survey was conducted from June 27-30 and used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults from Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, with a sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The result came days after the activist International People’s Tribunal “convicted” Duterte of crimes for gross human rights abuses covering his deadly war on drugs and the implementation of martial law in Mindanao, among other things.
The Palace has already labeled the court as a sham proceeding that must be ignored.”‹
