79% of Muslims nationwide favor BOL approval – SWS

A poll taken by the Social Weather Stations last December found that 79 percent of Muslims nationwide favored the approval of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in the 2019 plebiscite, with 67 percent of those polled definitely favoring the approval and 12 percent somewhat wanting its approval.

Of the Muslims who did not favor the BOL's approval, four percent somewhat did not want it, and three percent definitely did not want it.

Fourteen percent of those who were polled were undecided.

This gave the BOL's passage a net approval score (percent who want approval minus percent who do not want it) of +72.

Among other faiths, the BOL had a net approval rating of +15 among Iglesia ni Cristo members, +10 among Catholics, and +9 among other Christians.

If approved through the plebiscite, the BOL would create the new and expanded area of autonomy that would be called the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

BOL knowledge

The SWS poll also found that 78 percent of Muslims polled said they had a knowledge of the BOL.

Of this percentage, 10 percent said they had extensive knowledge of the BOL, 35 percent had partial but sufficient knowledge, and 33 percent said they only had a little knowledge.

Among other faiths, 65 percent of Catholics said they had at least a little knowledge of the BOL. This  was 61 percent among Iglesia ni Cristo members, and 61 percent among other Christians.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of Muslims said they had at least a partial but sufficient knowledge of the BOL. Among Catholics this was 22 percent, 22 percent among other Christians, and 17 percent among the Iglesia ni Cristo members.

BARMM governance

The SWS poll found that 76 percent of Muslims nationwide believed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was capable of governing the BARMM.

Of these 76 percent, 56 percent said the MILF was definitely capable of governing, while 21 percent said the MILF was somewhat capable.

Of the eight percent who said the MILF was incapable of governing, one percent said the group was somewhat not capable, and seven percent said they were definitely incapable.

The remaining 16 percent were undecided on the matter.

The net score among Muslims on the MILF's capability to govern (percentage who believed the MILF was capable minus the percentage who thought the MILF was incapable) was thus +68.

Among Catholics this net score was at +8, it was -2 among other Christians, and -6 among Iglesia ni Cristo members.

Mindanao on the BOL

Across Mindanao, including non-plebiscite areas, 41 percent said they were in favor of the BOL, while 31 percent opposed it.

Among those in Mindanao who favored the BOL, 27 percent said they definitely wanted the BOL, 14 percent somewhat wanted it.

Among those in Mindanao who opposed the BOL, nine percent said they somewhat din not want it, while 22 percent definitely did not want it.

The net score on those in Mindanao who favored the BOL, rounded off, came to +9 - leaning towards approval of the BOL.

In the Visayas, net approval of the BOL was +17, +16 in Balance Luzon, and +13 in Metro Manila.

Mindanao BOL knowledge

Across Mindanao, 63 percent of those polled said the knew about the BOL. Of this percentage, five percent said they had extensive knowledge, 16 percent had partial but sufficient knowledge, and 41 percent had only a little knowledge.

Meanwhile, 22 percent said they had either almost no knowledge or completely no knowledge of the BOL.

In Metro Manila, 75 percent said they had at least a little knowledge of the BOL. This was 65 percent in the Visayas, and 62 percent in Balance Luzon.

Those with a partial but sufficient knowledge of the BOL was highest in Metro Manila at 29 percent, followed by the Visayas at 23 , Balance Luzon at 23 percent, and Mindanao at 22 percent.

Mindanao on MILF governance

Across Mindanao 30 percent of adults said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was capable of governing the the BARMM. Of this percentage, 19 percent said the MILF was definitely capable, and 10 percent said they were somewhat capable/

Of the 38 percent who said the MILF was not capable, 11 percent said that the MILF was somewhat not capable, while 28 percent said they were definitely incapable.

The remaining 32 percent were undecided on the matter.

The MILF thus had net capability score (percent capable minus percent not capable) of -9 across Mindanao.

Compared to other areas, net capability of +16 (33% definitely/somewhat capable, 16% somewhat/definitely not capable)

In Balance Luzon, the MILF's ability to govern BARMM had a net score of +16, it was +15 in Metro Manila, and +12 in the Visayas.

The Social Weather Stations on the Bangsamoro Islamic Law or BOL was taken from December 16-19, 2018 using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults. The poll had sampling error margins of ±2.6 percent for national percentages, and ±5 percent each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao. — DVM, GMA News