Malacañang was glad that the majority of Filipinos believe that former president Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for killings related to his administration’s war on drugs.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro stated that the Palace is elated, knowing that Filipinos support the government's move to cooperate with the Interpol in arresting Duterte and bringing him to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"Masaya rin po tayo na majority po ng taumbayan at naniniwala sa naging action po ng pamahalaan patungkol sa issue na 'yan (We are glad that majority of Filipinos believe in the government's action regarding the issue)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, March 20.
"So, masaya po tayo na suportado po ng taumbayan ang ginawa ng pamahalaan (So, we are happy that the people supports the government's action)," she further said.
The Palace official also said they will continue to combat fake news in an attempt to inform the public of the facts of the issue, and help them believe in accurate sources rather than in disinformation.
"May mga nakita po rin tayo na yung iba ay undecided, yung iba ay hindi well-informed of the situation. So, sa ngayon po lalo po nating paiigtingin ang ating pagtatrabaho para po masawata ang fake news dahil malamang po na yung iba po na hindi pa po naniniwala sa ginawa ng pamahalaan ay dahil naniniwala sila doon sa fake news na kumakalat (We saw that others were undecided, others are not well-informed of the situation. So, we will further intensify efforts to combat fake news because probably, those who are not in favor of what the government did believe fake news)," Castro said.
According to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, conducted from Feb. 15 to 19 and commissioned by the Stratbase Consultancy, 51 percent of the respondents said they are in favor of holding the former president liable for the killings, while 25 percent disagreed, and 14 percent were undecided.
The remaining 10 percent said they did not know enough to give an opinion.