SWS: Majority of Filipinos find it dangerous to be critical of Duterte admin
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:08 p.m.) — Majority of Filipinos believe that publishing anything critical of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is dangerous, a newly released survey showed.
Based on face-to-face interviews conducted by private pollster Social Weather Stations from Nov. 21 to 25, 2020 with 1,500 adults, 65% agreed that it is dangerous to publish or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth.
Of those who were polled, 29% strongly agreed with the statement, while 37% said they somewhat agreed. Only 16% disagreed with the statement, while 18% were undecided.
The difference between those who agreed and disagreed on the dangers of publishing criticisms against the Duterte administration results in a “strong” net agreement score of +49.
This is a sharp increase from the “moderate” net agreement score of +21 in July 2020, when 51% of adult Filipinos said it was dangerous to be critical of the administration.
Malacañang dismissed fears suggested by the survey, saying that the right to free speech is enshrined in the Constitution and that the president swore to uphold it.
Despite the perceived danger of being critical, 65% believed that they can say anything they want, even if it is against the administration.
Of those who were polled, 31% strongly agreed with the statement, 34% said they somewhat agreed, while 19% disagreed and 16% were undecided.
The difference between those who agreed and disagreed with the statement on free speech results in a “strong” net agreement score of +46, up from +41 by five points in June 2019.
The SWS said this is the strongest net agreement score on free speech since January 2001, when net agreement hit +48.
The survey was conducted on the heels of government forces ramping up their attacks on critics by baselessly accusing them of being communist rebels.
Since then, several of those who have been red-tagged have either been arrested on what activists believe to be trumped up charges, while others were physically harmed and even killed.
All this happens with the highly-contested Anti-Terrorism Act in the background, which critics believe can be used to stifle dissent. — Xave Gregorio
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