Philippines
National
More Filipinos think it is 'dangerous' to print, broadcast anything critical of Duterte admin — SWS
More Filipinos think it is 'dangerous' to print, broadcast anything critical of Duterte admin — SWS
Sixty-five percent of adult Filipinos agreed that it is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical to the administration of President Duterte, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results released on Friday, March 19 showed.
In the nationwide survey conducted on Nov. 21-25, 2020 with 1,500 respondents, SWS found 65 percent of adult Filipinos who agreed (29 percent strongly agree, 37 percent somewhat agree), 18 percent undecided, and 16 percent who disagreed (10 percent somewhat disagree, 6 percent strongly disagree) with the statement, “it is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth.”
This translated to a net agreement score (percent agree minus percent disagree) of +49, classified by SWS as “strong.”
SWS pointed out that this is up by 28 points from the “moderate” +21 (51 percent agree, 30 percent disagree) in July 2020.
Its terminology for net agreement are as follows: +50 and above, "very strong"; +30 to +49, "strong"; +10 to +29, "moderate", +9 to -9, "neutral"; -10 to -29, "poor"; -30 to -49, "weak"; -50 and below, “very weak.”
SWS said that the net danger in publishing things critical of the administration rose in all areas.
It was highest in Mindanao (+58), followed by the Visayas (+55), Balance Luzon (+47), and Metro Manila (+30).
At the same time, the survey found 65 percent who agreed (31 percent strongly agree, 34 percent somewhat agree), 16 percent undecided, and 19 percent (12 percent somewhat disagree, 7 percent strongly disagree) who disagreed with the statement, “I can say anything I want, openly and without fear, even if it is against the administration.”
This translated to a strong net agreement score of +46, up by five points from the strong +41 (59 percent agree, 18 percent disagree) in June 2019.
SWS noted that this is the highest since the strong +48 in January 2001.
It said the net personal freedom to speak freely increased in Visayas and Mindanao but fell in Metro Manila.
It was highest in Visayas (+59), followed by Mindanao (+55), Balance Luzon (+42), and Metro Manila (+28).
The statement “I can say anything I want, openly and without fear, even if it is against the administration” was first tested by SWS in July 1985, during the Marcos regime, and found only 33 percent who agreed, while 29 percent who disagreed, for a record-low net agreement of a “neutral” +3.