THREE of five Filipinos approve the revival of the death penalty, described previously by then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte as not a crime deterrent but meant for retribution, according to a Social Weather Stations survey released this week.
The March 25 to 28 survey showed 61 percent of 1,200 respondents approved a proposal by the House of Representatives to reimpose the death penalty on heinous crimes while only 23 percent disapproved.
A similar bill is pending before the Senate.
The poll results suggested what some described as a “good” net approval of +38, which is the difference between the percentage of respondents who approved and disapproved of the proposed law.
In the SWS scale, a score of at least 30 qualifies as “good” while ratings 50 above are “very good” and marks 70 above are “excellent.”
The survey was conducted in the same month the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 4727, a measure which seeks to reimpose death penalty to strengthen the government’s war on drugs.
The same survey found that 52 percent of Filipinos have “little or almost no knowledge” about the bill while 48 percent have “either extensive or partial but sufficient knowledge.”
SWS noted there was higher approval for the bill among those who were knowledgeable about it.
The net approval rating was highest at a “very good” +59 among respondents with “extensive” knowledge about the proposal.
This was followed by a “very good” +51 among those with “partial but sufficient knowledge”; a “good” +30 from those with “only a little knowledge;” and a “neutral” net zero among those with “almost no knowledge.”
The pollster added the proportion of knowledgeable respondents was highest in Metro Manila at 54 percent, followed by “Balance Luzon” at 51 percent, Visayas at 49 percent, and Mindanao at 37 percent.
Last year, then presidential candidate Duterte said he would restore the death penalty if he won the election in May, indicating after it was clear he had won that he preferred capital punishment by hanging rather than by lethal injection.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the survey results “affirm” Duterte’s leadership platform, which added was anchored on peace and order, and his stance against illegal drugs and criminality.
Abella said the survey also proved the House of Representatives’ passing of the death penalty bill was “on the right track and accurately reflects the pulse of the Filipino people.”
“The President is determined to fulfill his promise to make a safer and more secure place for the people and eventually pave the way for sustained economic progress to uplift the lives of the Filipinos especially the poor,” he said.
