Malacañang hailed on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 5 the huge improvement it achieved in the net score on "personal freedom to speak freely" against President Duterte entering the final year of his administration.

President Rodrigo Duterte (Malacañang photo)

"The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey shows an improvement in net personal freedom to speak freely against President Rodrigo Roa Duterte from +5 in May 2021 to +18 in June 2021," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque noted in a statement.

On the 13-percentage point month-on-month uptick, Roque said: "The President believes in freedom of speech and free marketplace of ideas, and he has demonstrated this in his entire public career."

The Palace official also underscored that Duterte, 76, "has not filed a libel case against his critics".

"The President simply focuses on his work with the welfare of the Filipinos foremost in his mind," Roque claimed.

Duterte will end his six-year term in Malacañang on June 30, 2022. His successor will be elected on May 9, 2022 during the national and local polls.

The latest SWS survey was carried out from June 23 to 26, 2021.

The independent pollster categorized the +18 net score as "moderate". Meanwhile, the May 2021 net score of +5 was considered "neutral".

A net score, or in this case, a net agreement score, is achieved by subtracting the percentage of "agree" against the percentage of "disagree" to the statement posed in the survey.

The May and June surveys tested the statement, “I can say anything I want, openly and without fear, even if it is against President Duterte.”

Duterte, a former longtime Davao City Mayor, is known from his tough talk and hardline stance against criminality and illegal drugs. He was given the monikers "The Punisher" and "Dirty Harry" during his days as a local chief executive.

#net score

Palace pats its back as score on 'freedom to speak freely' vs Duterte improves