51% of Filipinos favor holding Duterte accountable for drug war deaths

By Filane Mikee Cervantes, Philippine News Agency

Rural respondents (52 percent) were more likely to support Duterte’s accountability than those in urban areas (48 percent). (File Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – A majority of Filipinos believe former President Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for killings related to his administration’s war on drugs, according to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The survey, conducted from Feb. 15 to 19 and commissioned by the Stratbase Consultancy, showed 51 percent of the respondents said they are in favor of holding the former president liable for the killings, 25 percent disagreed, 14 percent were undecided, while the remaining 10 percent said they did not know enough to give an opinion.

Support for accountability was highest in the Visayas, where 62 percent agreed, followed by Balance Luzon with 49 percent, Mindanao with 47 percent, and the National Capital Region with 45 percent.

Rural respondents (52 percent) were more likely to support Duterte’s accountability than those in urban areas (48 percent).

SWS asked respondents: “How much do you agree or disagree that former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for the killings related to illegal drugs during his administration?”

The Stratbase-SWS survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,800 registered voters and had a margin of error of ±2.31 percent for national results.

Duterte was the subject of an arrest warrant by the ICC over the alleged crimes against humanity committed due to his drug war carried out between Nov. 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 during his time as Davao City mayor and then Philippine president.

He arrived in The Hague on March 12 and was turned over to the ICC Detention Center in Scheveningen.

The ICC scheduled the next hearing on Sept. 23 to confirm the charges against Duterte.