SWS: 59% of Pinoys feel free to speak up, even if against Duterte admin

Results of the Second Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey showed that 59% of adult Filipinos believe they can say anything they want without fear, even if it is against the Duterte administration.

The survey, conducted between June 22 and 26, meanwhile showed 18% believed otherwise, resulting in a net agreement score of +41, which the SWS said showed that a majority of Filipinos believe the freedom of speech in the country is "very strong."

The June 2019 survey also found that 51% agree, 29% are undecided, and 20% disagree with the statement, "It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth," for a strong net agreement of +31.

Meanwhile, 67% agree, 23% are undecided, and 10% disagree with the statement, "Mass media in the Philippines have freedom of speech, of expression and of press," for a very strong net agreement of +57.

The statement "I can say anything I want, openly and without fear, even if it is against the administration" was first tested by SWS in July 1985, during the Marcos regime, and found only 33% agreed, while 29% disagreed, for a record-low net agreement of a neutral +3. Net agreement rose to a strong +39 in May 1986, and reached its all-time high of a very strong +63 in March 1987.

Freedom of speech has been probed 40 times from 1985 to the present. Its net score averaged +33 during the administration of Cory Aquino, +38 in the time of Fidel Ramos, +41 in the time of Joseph Estrada, +34 in the time of Gloria Arroyo, and +32 in the time of Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.

In the five times it was surveyed under the Duterte administration, it ranged from a moderate +23 to a strong +41.

This is 18 points above the moderate +23 in December 2018.

The non-commissioner survey was conducted 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.

It had a sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Curious

Predictably, the Palace welcomed the poll results, which it characterized as a repudiation of the "vociferous and unrelenting tirade of the critics and detractors" of President Rodrigo Duterte.

"The survey rating means we have a vibrant and robust exercise of those freedoms (freedoms of speech and of expression)," crowed Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.

Panelo, however, admitted to being "curious" as to why 51 percent of Filipinos agreed that it was dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the government.

"The President respects criticisms as long as the same is not baseless, unfounded or false. He even urges the people, including writers and reporters, to freely express whatever sentiments they have," the spokesperson countered.

Panelo was nevertheless quick to speculate that the criticisms against the government came from a mere three percent of Filipinos "who have expressed their disapproval to the President." — MDM/DVM, GMA News