Some senators are not surprised that five out of 10 Filipinos think that it is dangerous to publish statements that are critical of the Duterte administration.
Opposition Sen. Francis Pangilinan on Saturday said the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey did "not come as a surprise considering the culture of sowing fear and threatening perceived enemies, the stifling of dissent, and the silencing of critics have been the hallmark of this admin(istration) since 2016."
"Four years of vicious attacks by both the leaders and supporters of the admin(istration) against criticisms both online and offline will create that level of fear," Pangilinan said.
He, however, expressed hope that Filipinos will not cower.
"forever especially in the face of the abuses and incompetence of the administration in addressing COVID(-19), in fighting corruption, and in defending our sovereignty against Chinese aggression."
"In the meantime, we in the opposition must continue to speak up and act as a check and balance to the administration. It is our constitutional duty to do so in our constitutional democracy. Fear may be infectious but so is courage," Pangilinan said.
Sen. Grace Poe surmised that the survey reflected "how history has affected the mindset of Filipinos."
"Let us recall that we were under Martial Law for decades; we were colonized by the Spaniards for 300 years. This context has conditioned the minds of a lot of Filipinos into believing that speaking out is dangerous," Poe said, adding that the country should work "to change this mindset."
"It takes a free press and an empowered citizenry working together to uphold a democracy," said the lawmaker.
"Today, we have the power to vote for whoever we think is fit for office. We also have the power to impeach any official we think is abusing that power. These choices would not have been available to us without a democratic space."
She continued: "If we do not protect our right to speak freely, then these choices, as well as all our other rights and freedoms may be lost."
Senate President Vicente Sotto III dismissed the SWS poll and said people should not fear being critical of the Duterte administration.
"It's merely a perception, and its wrong," he said in a separate message. "Articles, comments and criticisms abound all over yet nothing shows that government makes it dangerous," he added.
In its National Mobile Phone survey conducted July 3 to 6, SWS found out that 51 percent of Filipinos agree that "It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth.'"
Thirty percent of the 1,555 adult respondents from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao disagreed with the statement, while 18 percent were undecided.