War on drugs eroding popular support for Duterte, says Hontiveros

The administration’s war on drugs is affecting President Rodrigo Duterte’s popular support, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday, after a Pulse Asia survey showed a dip in his performance and trust ratings.

In a text message, Hontiveros noted that the decline in ratings happened at the height of the kidnap-slay case of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo, the reports released by international human rights groups on the war on drugs, the confession of retired Davao cop Arturo Lascañas, and the alleged “palit-ulo” scheme revealed by Vice President Leni Robredo.

“All these issues point to how flawed the government's bloody war on drugs is. It is costing the government's popular support,” Hontiveros said.

“President Duterte may remain popular at the moment, but people are starting to doubt the administration and its barbaric methods of addressing the country's drug problem. Strong leadership is not about talking tough and acting rough, it is about listening to the people.” she added.

The poll conducted from March 15 to 20 show Duterte’s performance rating slide by five percentage points, from 83 percent in December 2016 to 78 percent.

His trust ratings decreased by seven percentage points, also from 83 percent in December last year to 76 percent in March.

Across socio-economic classes, Duterte obtained an increase of 17 percentage points in Class ABC, from 69 percent in December 2016 to 86 percent in March in his performance rating. His trust rating for Class ABC also increased by 12 percentage points from 72 percent in December 2016 to 84 percent in March.

Duterte’s trust rating from Class E meanwhile dropped by 11 points, from 85 percent in December last year to 74 percent in March. 

Hontiveros said the drop among the Class E reflects the sentiments of the poor who “have borne the brunt of the government's drug war.”

“The President must listen to the growing public clamor to end the abusive war on drugs and fully commit to democracy and human rights. President Duterte must listen to other important voices aside from his own before it's too late,” she said.

On March 8, Duterte said there was nothing he could do if poor people were killed in his war on drugs.

“You cannot stop the apparatus from moving if you do not kill the drug lord and take care… Sabi nila, 'puro mahirap ‘yan'. Eh wala nga tayong magawa eh,” he said.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, for his part, said he feels “very much encouraged” by the Pulse Asia numbers.

“The Filipino people are beginning to see the light. By May, we expect it to go down further,” Trillanes, a staunch critic of the President, said. —NB, GMA News