The Palace and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday welcomed the results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing that six of 10 Filipinos believe that the number of drug users has decreased, saying this “validates the success” of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
“As we all know, it is a major campaign platform of President Duterte and remains a centerpiece program of his administration, notwithstanding the harshest criticisms, brickbats and pressures the current government is receiving here and abroad,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said of the anti-drug campaign.
Viewing the results as “good news,” Panelo called on the political opposition and the President’s detractors who are “most vocal” in attacking the anti-drug war to accept the people’s sentiments.
PNP spokesman Sr. Supt. Bernard Banac, meanwhile, said the survey results showed that the anti-drug campaign was an effective deterrent.
“The high rating obtained proves that the continuing anti-illegal drugs campaign of the government is effective in convincing drug dependents to refrain from further using illegal drugs, and instrumental in reducing the total number of crimes nationwide thereby, creating a secure environment where people feel safe to live, work and do business,” he said in a statement.
In the latest survey, 66 percent of respondents said they believe the number of drug addicts last year was lower than that in 2017, while 14 percent said it had increased, and seven percent said it had remained the same.
According to the pollster, the proportion of those who believe there are now fewer drug addicts last year was highest in Mindanao with 83 percent saying there are few drug addicts, while six percent said otherwise and four percent said the number did not change.
In the Visayas, 71 percent of those polled said it decreased, 11 percent said it increased and six percent said it remained the same.
In Metro Manila, 67 percent said it decreased, 22 percent said it increased, and eight percent said it remained the same.
In the rest of Luzon, 54 percent said it decreased, 18 percent said it increased, and eight percent said it remained the same.
The survey, conducted from Dec. 16 to 19, 2018, interviewed 1,440 Filipino adults nationwide. It had sampling error margins of ±2.6 percent for national percentages, and ±5 percent each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
