OCTA poll: 8 in 10 Pinoys trust PNP

MANILA, Philippines —  Eight in every 10 Filipinos said they continue to trust the Philippine National Police (PNP), a recent survey conducted by the OCTA Research group said.

The March 24 to 28 survey results released yesterday show that 80 percent of 1,200 adult respondents said they either “strongly trust” (21 percent) or “somewhat trust” (59 percent) the country’s police force.

Five percent said they either “somewhat distrust” (four percent) or “strongly distrust” (one percent) the PNP, while the remaining 15 percent cannot say.

Trust with the country’s police force was highest among respondents in the Visayas at 89 percent (46 percent “strong trust” and 43 percent “somewhat trust”, followed by those in Mindanao at 88 percent (30 percent “strong trust” and 58 percent “somewhat trust”), balance Luzon at 74 percent (10 percent “strong trust” and 64 percent “somewhat trust”) and Metro Manila at 66 percent (four percent “strong trust” and 62 percent “somewhat trust.”)

It was also highest among respondents belonging to class E at 90 percent (30 percent “strong trust” and 60 percent “somewhat trust”), followed by those in class D at 78 percent (20 percent “strong trust” and 58 percent “somewhat trust”) and ABC at 74 percent (13 percent “strong trust” and 61 percent “somewhat trust.”)

A majority of respondents were also satisfied with the PNP, with 23 percent saying they were “very satisfied” and 57 percent saying they were “somewhat satisfied.”

Only six percent said they were either “somewhat dissatisfied” (five percent) or “very dissatisfied” (one percent), with the remaining respondents saying they cannot say.

Broken down by area, satisfaction with the PNP was highest among respondents in Mindanao at 88 percent (26 percent “very satisfied” and 62 percent “somewhat satisfied”), followed those in the Visayas at 87 percent (49 percent “very satisfied” and 38 percent “somewhat satisfied”), balance Luzon at 76 percent (14 percent “very satisfied” and 62 percent “somewhat satisfied”) and Metro Manila at 65 percent (nine percent “very satisfied” and 56 percent “somewhat satisfied.”)

Across socio-economic classes, those who were satisfied with the police were higher among class E at 90 percent (32 percent “very satisfied” and 58 percent “somewhat satisfied”), followed by those in class D at 78 percent (22 percent “very satisfied” and 56 percent “somewhat satisfied”) and ABC at 72 percent (12 percent “very satisfied” and 60 percent “somewhat satisfied”).

The survey respondents were also asked about the PNP’s current performance of some specific duties.

In terms of implementation of peace and order, some 41 percent said it was better than before, while 48 percent said it was same as before.

Nine percent said it was worse than before, while two percent said they do not know.

Meanwhile, 41 percent said the PNP was better than before in terms of addressing crimes. Some 48 percent said it was the same as before, eight percent said it was worse, while three percent said they do not know.

The survey has a margin of error of +/- three percent for national percentages and +/- six percent for the geographic areas at 95 percent confidence level.

Elated by a survey that showed a majority of Filipinos still trust the country’s police force, the PNP vowed to work harder to fulfill its mandate of serving and protecting the public.

“We will stay committed and true to our mandate so that our countrymen will continue to trust the PNP. This is a good indication that even if the PNP is hit by a lot of issues, our community continues to trust our police’” PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a phone interview.

Among the recent issues the PNP is facing is the alleged involvement of some police scalawags, including high-ranking officials, in the illegal drug trade.

Several police officers were implicated in the alleged irregular operation in Tondo, Manila in October last year wherein 990 kilos of shabu worth P6.7 billion were seized from a former anti-narcotics officer.

The PNP’s anti-scalawag unit, the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, has arrested police officers with suspected involvement in nefarious activities. –  Emmanuel Tupas