3 out of 5 Filipinos agree that only poor drug pushers are killed – SWS

33% strongly agreed, while 27% somewhat agreed, with the highest proportion coming from Metro Manila, followed by Balance Luzon, Mindanao, then Visayas. (Shutterstock photo)

The Second Quarter 2017 Social Weather Stations (SWS) special report released on Monday cited that three out of five Filipinos agreed that only poor drug pushers are killed in the government’s ongoing campaign on drugs.

Fielded on June 23-26, the report found that out of 1200 respondents nationwide, 60% agreed with the statement “Hindi pinapatay ang mga mayayaman na drug pusher; ang mga pinapatay ay ang mahihirap lamang (Rich drug users are not killed; only the poor ones are killed).”

33% strongly agreed, while 27% somewhat agreed, with the highest proportion coming from Metro Manila, followed by Balance Luzon, Mindanao, then Visayas.

12% somewhat disagreed, 11% strongly disagreed, and 17% were undecided.

Meanwhile, three out of four said that President Rodrigo Duterte should expose his list of drug personalities to the public and charge them in court.

46% strongly agreed, 28% somewhat agreed with the statement “Dapat isiwalat ni Pang. Duterte ang kanyang listahan ng mga taong sangkot sa droga o ‘drug personalities’ sa publiko at sampahan ng kaso sa korte ang mga nakalista (President Duterte should expose his list of drug personalities to the public and charge those in the list in court).”

82% of the agreement came from Metro Manila, followed by Balance Luzon, Mindanao, and then Visayas.

7% somewhat disagreed, 5% strongly agreed, and 14% were undecided.

The said SWS survey also reported that when it comes to the issue of drug suspects that ‘nanlaban (resisted arrest),’ opinions are split.

25% believe that the police are telling the truth, 28% said the police are not telling the truth, and 48% were unsure whether the police are telling the truth or not.

From those who said that the police are telling the truth, 53% came from Balance Luzon, 46% from Mindanao, 44% from Metro Manila, and 42% from Visayas.

Meanwhile, the proportion of those saying that the police are not telling the truth had 39% from Metro Manila, followed by Balance Luzon at 27%, Visayas at 25%, and Mindanao at 23%

Compared to March 2017’s statement, 24% said that the police are telling the truth, 31% said the police are not telling the truth, and the plurality of 44% were not sure.

Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella in a statement said that the SWS survey contains ‘leading and pointed questions’ that could have influenced the answers of respondents.

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