Despite the thousands of deaths it has brought to the streets, a recent survey found that most Filipinos were still satisfied with President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
Data released by local social research institution Social Weather Stations (SWS) yesterday showed that 78 percent of Filipinos surveyed were still satisfied with the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, while only 13 percent were dissatisfied with it.
The numbers were based on a survey conducted in June where 1,2000 adults were interviewed nationwide.
According to SWS, the net satisfaction result of +65 is categorized as “very good.” This is one point above the result of a similar survey held in March.
The drug war has been synonymous with Duterte, who has been actively pushing for it since he campaigned for the presidency in 2016. And the results of the recent survey show that the two are very much still linked to each other.
Apparently, people who were satisfied with the anti-drug campaign also tended to give Duterte’s performance a higher satisfaction rate.
Unsurprisingly, the net satisfaction rating of the drug war was highest in Mindanao, where Duterte is from. Mindanao’s net satisfaction rating was +84 or “excellent.”
According to the survey, residents from Mindanao has rated the drug war “excellent” seven out of eight times. The one time it wasn’t rated excellent, it was “very good.”
In comparison, net satisfaction on the drug war dropped by 12 points in the Visayas, where it got a +57 (very good) rating. In Metro Manila, the rating was +67 (very good) — a two-point increase from the March survey — while the rest of Luzon rated it +58 (very good).
However, it looks like not all of Duterte’s campaigns fly with Filipinos.
In another SWS study released yesterday, it was reported that 60 percent of Filipinos surveyed thought the government’s arrest of tambays (loiterers) was a violation of human rights.
In June, Duterte ordered the police to crack down on tambays as a crime deterrent, immediately leading to thousands of people being rounded up for that reason. Many were against this directive because people were, essentially, being arrested before they even commit a crime.
Why do you think Duterte and his drug war are still popular with the masses? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @CoconutsManila.
