Robie de Guzman • July 23, 2019 • 1860

(file photo)

MANILA, Philippines – Sixty percent of Filipinos believe that the Philippine government should not block the investigation into the killings related to President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed on Monday (July 22).

The survey, conducted from Jun 22 to 26, showed that 26 percent of the 1,200 respondents strongly agree with the statement that, “the government should not block the investigation of international groups, like the United Nations, into the killing by the Philippine police of so many drug suspects who supposedly fought back.”

Thirty-four percent somewhat agreed to the statement; 15 percent disagreed, while 25 percent were undecided.

The SWS said the net agreements in both rural and urban areas, at +46 and +44 respectively, were classified as “very strong.”

The SWS said the net agreement is equal to the percentages of those who agreed minus those who disagreed.

It classifies a score of +50 and above as “extremely strong, and +30 to +49 as “very strong”.

Mindanao recorded an “extremely strong” +50 net agreement, followed by very strong net scores in Balance Luzon at +45, Metro Manila at +43, and the Visayas at +42, the agency said.

The pollster further said the net agreement was highest in class D or the “masa” at +46, followed by class E at +45, and class ABC at +37. It was also very strong among both women and men, at +47 and +44, respectively.

By age group, net agreement on the statement was highest among 35 to 44-year olds and 18 to 24-year olds, at extremely strong levels of +52 and +50, respectively, the SWS said.

This was followed by very strong scores among 25 to 34-year olds at +48; 55-year olds and above at +45, and 45 to 54-year olds at +31.

The SWS said the June 2019 Social Weather Survey has sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The survey follows reports earlier this month about the move of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to adopt a resolution led by Iceland seeking a comprehensive report on the human rights situation in the Philippines amid Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Malacañang earlier said the adoption of the ‘grotesquely one-sided’ resolution is an insult to the majority of Filipinos who expressed satisfaction on the kind of “forceful and effective” governance of Duterte.

READ: Palace slams UN resolution as ‘grotesquely one-sided’ and ‘insulting’

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin also rejected the Iceland-led resolution and warned of “far-reaching consequences” for nations who supported the resolution.

Iceland, on the other hand, expressed hope that the Philippines will cooperate with the U.N. investigation.