78% of Pinoys satisfied with democracy —SWS poll

Seventy-eight percent of adult Filipinos are satisfied with the way democracy works in the country, while 60 percent prefer democracy to other forms of government, according to  Social Weather Stations (SWS) surveys, the results of which were released Tuesday, Independence Day.

Based on the result of the March 2018 survey of 1,200 adults across the Philippines, the percentage of Filipinos satisfied with how democracy works is  two points lower than the 80 percent of the June 2017 survey and a point lower than the June 2016 poll.

Satisfaction with the way democracy works reached a record high in September 2016 at 86 percent, and 80 percent again in June 2013 after the senatorial election the previous month.

The lowest in recent history was the 44 percent tracked in June 2004 after the presidential election.

Respondents in the survey were asked, "On the whole, are you ... (Very satisfied; Fairly satisfied; Not very satisfied; Not at all satisfied) with the way democracy works in the Philippines?"

Meanwhile, democracy remains the best form of government for 60 percent of Filipino adults in March 2018. Preference for democracy reached a record high at 65 percent in June 2013 and 61 percent in June 2017.

In contrast, preference for an authoritarian government remains a steady 19 percent from September 2016 to March 2018, below the 20 percent of five consecutive quarters since December 2015.

Apathy toward either form of government has remained at 20 percent from September 2013 to June 2017 and only increased by a point  in March 2018.

Responses provided for this part of the survey include: Democracy is always preferable to any other kind of government; Under some circumstances, an authoritarian government can be preferable to a democratic one; For people like me, it does not matter whether we have a democratic or a non-democratic regime.

The survey was conducted from March 23 to 27, 2018 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide — 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — with sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The SWS said the surveys on satisfaction with democracy, and preference for democracy, are not commissioned. —KBK, GMA News