Around half of Filipinos believe that it is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration even if it is the truth, based in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results released on Thursday, Oct. 14.
The nationwide poll, which was conducted from Sept. 12 to 16 using face-to-face interviews, asked 1,200 adults if they agree or disagree to the statement: “It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth.”
According to the survey results, 45 percent of the respondents agreed, 29 percent were undecided, and 19 percent disagreed.
“This gives a net agreement score of +26, classified by SWS as moderate. This is a six-point rise from the moderate +20 in June 2021,” the poll body said.
The SWS terminologies 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.”
Publishing things critical against admin
The net agreement with the statement: “It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth,” was highest in the Visayas (+31), followed by Balance Luzon (+28), Mindanao (+23), and Metro Manila (+17).
In comparison with the June 2021 survey, net agreement rose from “moderate” to “strong” in the Visayas, from +22 to +31.
But it remained moderate in Balance Luzon, although up from +21 to +28, and in Mindanao, which rose from +12 to +23.
Moreover, it also stayed moderate in Metro Manila, although it went down from +28 to +17.
Personal freedom to speak
The same survey also found that 42 percent of the respondents agreed, 28 percent undecided, and 22 percent disagreed with the statement: “I can say anything I want, openly and without fear, even if it is against President Duterte.”
“This gives a net agreement score of moderate +20. This is a slight two-point rise from the +18 in June 2021 and a continuing recovery from the neutral +5 in May 2021,” the SWS said.
The pollster said the net agreement with the statement, “I can say anything I want, openly and without fear, even if it is against President Duterte,” was highest in Metro Manila (+30)
This was followed by Balance Luzon (+19), the Visayas (+19), and Mindanao (+15).
Compared to June 2021, net agreement rose from moderate to strong in Metro Manila, from +22 to +30.
However, it stayed moderate in Balance Luzon, although it increased from +15 to +19.
It also stayed moderate in the Visayas, but fell from +24 to +19, and remained moderate +15 in Mindanao from June 2021 to September 2021.