SWS poll shows 46% agree it is unavoidable that innocent lives are lost in war on drugs

By Arjay L. Balinbin

ALMOST HALF of respondents in a new snapshot of the third-quarter survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) agree that it is unavoidable that innocent citizens will die in order to eradicate the illegal drug problem in the country.

The noncommissioned Third Quarter Social Weather Survey of the SWS, conducted Sept. 23-27 and published Wednesday night, Nov. 1, found that 46% of adult Filipinos agree (21% strongly agree, 24% somewhat agree, correctly rounded) with the statement, “It cannot be avoided that there are innocent citizens who will die in order to completely eradicate the illegal drug problem in the country,” while 35% disagree (15% somewhat disagree, 20% strongly disagree), and 19% are undecided, giving a net agreement score (% agree minus % disagree) of +10, classified by SWS as moderately strong.

SWS terminology for Net Agreement is as follows: +50 and above, “Extremely Strong”; +30 to +49, “Very Strong”; +10 to +29, “Moderately Strong”, +9 to –9, “Neutral”; –10 to –29, “Moderately Weak”; –30 to –49, “Very Weak”; –50 and below, “Extremely Weak.”

The survey also found that about half or 49% of respondents agree (25% strongly agree, 24% somewhat agree) with the test statement that, in their area, “the administration probably has people who secretly observe and report those who are users and those who are sellers of illegal drugs.” Regarding that statement, 19% disagree (10% somewhat disagree, 10% strongly disagree, correctly rounded), and 31% are undecided, leading to a net agreement score of moderately strong +29.

BY AREA
It was in the Visayas that net agreement on innocent casualties being unavoidable in the drug war was highest at a moderately strong +21 (50% agree, 30% disagree, correctly rounded). This was followed by Metro Manila at a moderately strong +18 (54% agree, 36% disagree), Balance Luzon at a neutral +9 (44% agree, 36% disagree, correctly rounded), and Mindanao at a neutral +1 (39% agree, 38% disagree).

Regarding the statement, “The government probably has people who secretly observe and report drug users and pushers,” net agreement was highest in Metro Manila at an extremely strong +50 (66% agree, 17% disagree, correctly rounded), followed by Balance Luzon at a moderately strong +29 (47% agree, 19% disagree, correctly rounded), Mindanao at a moderately strong +26 (47% agree, 21% disagree), and the Visayas at a moderately strong +21 (43% agree, 22% disagree).

BY SATISFACTION
“The net satisfaction scores (% satisfied minus % dissatisfied) of the national administration’s campaign against illegal drugs (good +56) and President Rodrigo Duterte (good +44) tend to be lower among those who disagree that innocent casualties cannot be avoided in the drug war, compared to those who agree (excellent +70 and very good +52, respectively) and were undecided (very good +59 and very good +53, respectively),” SWS said.

The SWS terminology for Net Satisfaction ratings is as follows: +70 and above, “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”, +9 to –9, “neutral”; –10 to –29, “poor”; –30 to –49, “bad”; –50 to –69, “very bad”; –70 and below, “execrable.”

Net satisfaction with Mr. Duterte, at a good +38, tends to be lower among those who disagree that the government probably has people who secretly observe and report drug users and pushers, compared to those who agree (very good +52) and were undecided (good +47).

Under that test statement, SWS also found that public satisfaction with the overall national administration and its campaign against illegal drugs “hardly varied” by people’s agreement or disagreement.

The survey had face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide — 600 in Balance Luzon and 300 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao — with sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for the other areas.

Newly appointed Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque, Jr. said on Thursday: “[I]n any war, unfortunately, there will be collateral damage. The goal of the government is to minimize the collateral damage,…to uphold,…protect and promote the right to life.”

“As far as this obligation is concerned, there is a continuing obligation of the state to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of these killings,” Mr. Roque added. — with Rosemarie A. Zamora