MANILA, Philippines — As novel coronavirus infections in the Philippines continue to surge, a poll has found that 60% of Filipinos hold the national government most responsible for the country's response to the pandemic.
The Social Weather Stations conducted the national mobile phone survey from July 3 to 6, interviewing 1,555 Filipinos who were 18 years old and above.
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SWS logged that "three out of five adult Filipinos say the national government, rather than the local government, is more responsible for solving the [novel coronavirus] crisis."
Meanwhile, 23% of the survey's respondents said that LGUs are more responsible for solving the pandemic-induced crisis, as compared to the national government, and 14% volunteered that both are equally responsible for the same.
According to SWS, a range of 60% to 61% is the consistent proportion of those who hold the central government most responsible, unchanging among people from Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, as well as those from both urban and rural areas.
However, the survey found that "belief that national government is more responsible decreases with education."
Despite this, the central government's liability for the crisis remains consensus even among these respondents, with their agreement ranging from 53% to 63%.
As it stands, the health and economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of slowing down in the country.
Monday saw another record-breaking high of almost 7,000 new infections among Filipinos, while almost 3,000 new cases logged on Tuesday upped the national caseload to 139, 538.
Despite Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque's objections, data shows that, as of August 6, the Philippines is now the worst-hit country in Southeast Asia in terms of national caseload.
At the urging of medical frontliners who said they were increasingly overwhelmed by the surge in COVID-19 cases, President Rodrigo Duterte reverted Metro Manila and nearby provinces to a stricter modified enhanced community quarantine until at least August 18.
Wednesday marks the 148th day that the country has been under community quarantine — the longest in the world.