87% of Filipinos believe gov't should assert right to West PHL Sea islands

A great majority of Filipinos believe the government should assert its right to the islands in the West Philippine Sea as stipulated in the arbitral court's 2016 decision to the case filed by the Philippines against China, according to Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Results of the survey, which was conducted from June 22 to 26, 2019, were released on Friday, July 12, 2019, the third anniversary of the Philippines' legal victory before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The survey said 87% of adult Filipinos agree to the statement:  "The Philippine Government should assert its right to the islands in the West Philippine Sea as stipulated in the 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration."

Of this, 59% agree and 28% somewhat agree, the SWS saids. Only 5% disagreed — 2% strongly disagree, 3% somewhat agree — while 9% were undecided.

Malacanang not surprised

Malacañang said it was not surprised by the survey result.

"The answer is therefore expected given this line of questioning. Similarly expected is that some quarters who are opposed to the President, for the sake of opposing, would tweak and use the result of this survey question to lambast President Rodrigo Duterte and this administration," presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

"The premise of the survey question is wrong as it assumes that we have not asserted our rights over the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea. This administration has asserted our rights over the same. There are many ways of asserting such rights."

Panelo added that physically gaining control of the disputed areas by evicting the other claimants was not only "reckless but unintelligent as well."

"Such tack will obviously trigger armed hostilities that can develop into a full-blown war, thereby risking the lives and properties of the Filipino people, and put in imminent peril the security of the Republic," he said.

The Palace official said Duterte has been using "skillful diplomacy" in dealing with China where both countries can peacefully discuss and resolve issues through a bilateral consultation mechanism.

Prosecute those who destroy marine resources

The same survey also said the same percentage of Filipinos believe Chinese fishermen who destroy marine resources should be arrested, agreeing to the statement: "The government should arrest and prosecute Chinese fishermen causing the destruction of marine resources in the West Philippine Sea."

To this, 87% agreed (63% strongly agree, 24% somewhat agree), while 5% disagreed (2% strongly disagree, 3% somewhat disagree). The remaining 8% were undecided.

The same survey also showed that 71% of Filipinos say the government is serious in protecting Filipino fishermen against foreign vessels.

Answering the question, “How serious is the government in protecting the safety of Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea against foreign vessels that threaten their security?”, 71% said the government is serious (35% very serious, 36% somewhat serious) while 15% said it is not serious (6% very serious, 9% somewhat serious). The remaining 15% (correctly rounded) were undecided.

The June 2019 Social Weather Survey was conducted from June 22-26, 2019 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao). —KBK, GMA News