SWS poll on drug war shows ‘ugly truth’—Palace

FILE: Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella made the clarification during a Palace briefing in view of a supposed Malacañang memo that is circulating online saying that government has declared Nov. 13 to 15 as “special non-working holidays” in Metro Manila. (Photo: pcoo.gov.ph)

Malacañang said on Tuesday that results of a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on the government’s war against illegal drugs express “ugly truth”, despite its assurance that the rights of the poor are respected in the campaign.

Results of the June survey suggested that three in every five Filipinos, or 60 percent, believe that only poor are killed in the administration’s bloody crackdown on illegal drugs.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella admitted that most of the drug suspects who end up dead in the campaign are poor, but said the government guarantees that those deprived are not exposed to authorities’ abuse.

“Again it’s an ugly truth na ganun nga [that that’s what it is]. However, that’s exactly why the President is allowing now for full investigation so that those who can defend themselves less have more in terms of the backing of law,” Abella told reporters in a chance interview.

Abella added that the president is already addressing concerns posed against his anti-drugs operation that has been labeled by detractors as “selective”.

“This is exactly why policemen are being retrained. That’s exactly why they are relieved of position. It’s being addressed,” Abella said.

“Huwag po tayong myopic [Let’s not be myopic]. Huwag po tayong nakatutok lang sa ganitong maliliit lang [Let’s not focus on small issues]. Tingnan natin ang ginagawa ng Presidente na malawakan [Let’s see widely if what does the President do]. And he’s truly addressing it,” he added.

The study showed that most respondents who agreed with the statement “rich drug pushers are not killed; only the poor ones are killed” were from Metro Manila with 48 percent, followed by Mindanao with 34 percent, Visayas with 31 percent, and Balance Luzon with 29 percent.

Recently, another SWS poll revealed that most Filipinos, with 63 percent, believe drug suspects are still killed even after they surrender. Meanwhile, a separate survey showed that Filipinos (54 percent) affirm that most of those killed in the drug war did not resist arrest.

In the latest numbers, government data show that the campaign has led to the deaths of 3,906 alleged drug users and pushers since last year.

The anti-narcotics undertaking also bared a total of 113,932 people arrested in the 76,863 operations since last year.