SWS: 65% believe it’s dangerous to publish anything critical of gov't

A majority of Filipinos believe that it is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the government, according to the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

Conducted last November 21 to 25, the survey found that 65% of adult Filipinos agreed with this statement: “It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth.”

Sixteen percent of the 1,500 respondents disagreed, while 18% were undecided.

This gives a net agreement score of +49, which is classified by the SWS as strong. This is up by 28 points from the moderate +21 in July 2020.

However, 65% of the respondents agreed that they can say anything they want, “openly and without fear, even if it is against the administration.” Nineteen percent said they disagreed while 16% were undecided.

The SWS said the net agreement score was a strong +46, the highest since the strong +48 in January 2001.

According to the SWS, the net agreement on danger in publishing things critical of the administration rose in all areas and educational levels, while the net agreement on the freedom to speak freely went up in the Visayas and Mindanao but fell in Metro Manila.

In response, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said people should have no doubts about exercising their right to free speech.

“That is guaranteed under the Constitution and the President, who is a lawyer, had pledged to implement the Constitution including the Bill of Rights,” Roque said at a news conference.

Asked whether a media organization can publish or air anything without experiencing the same fate as Rappler and ABS-CBN, Roque said Rappler violated foreign ownership restrictions.

ABS-CBN, meanwhile, can only get a new franchise from Congress, he said.

The SWS survey had sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao. — DVM, GMA News