SWS survey questions leading, pointed — Palace

Malacañang on Wednesday expressed doubt on the result of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which supposedly showed that majority of Filipinos disagreed with the argument that suspects killed by police in drug operations resisted arrest. (Photo By Office of the Executive Secretary, Public Domain)

MANILA — Malacañang on Wednesday expressed doubt on the result of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which supposedly showed that majority of Filipinos disagreed with the argument that suspects killed by police in drug operations resisted arrest.

“It seems the 2nd Quarter Social Weather Stations (SWS) Survey contains leading and pointed questions that may have unduly influenced the answers of respondents,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

In its Second Quarter 2017 survey conducted from June 23 to 26, but whose results were only released on September 27, The SWS asked the respondents whether they agree or not with three statements.

In the statement “Marami sa mga pinatay ng mga pulis sa kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga ay hindi totoong nanlaban sa pulis (Many of those killed by the police in the anti-drug campaign did not really fight against the police), 20 percent said they strongly disagreed while 34 percent said they somewhat agree.

Only 8 percent said they strongly disagreed and 12 percent said they somewhat disagree.

Including the aforementioned statement, Abella listed the other “leading and pointed questions” he was referring to as:

Marami sa mga pinatay ng mga pulis sa kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga ay hindi naman talaga mga nagtutulak ng droga o pusher (Many of those killed by the police in the campaign against illegal drugs are not really drug pushers).

Marami ang nagsisinungaling at itinuturo ang kanilang mga personal na mga kaaway bilang drug user/pusher para mabigyang dahilan na patayin ang mga taong ito ng mga pulis o vigilante (Many are lying and identifying their personal enemies as drug users/pushers in order to give a reason for police or vigilantes to kill these people).

“We expect pollsters to exercise prudence and objectivity to arrive at a closer approximation of public sentiment,” Abella said.