Marawi respondents less convinced that Duterte is concerned for Muslims — SWS

A Social Weathers Station survey taken a month after the one-year anniversary of the Marawi siege showed only half or 50 percent of residents living in the city believe that President Rodrigo Duterte is "concerned" for Muslims.

According to the SWS on Thursday, results of the "April 2018 Survey on Post Conflict Expectations in Marawi City" were presented Wednesday by their in-house Mindanao expert Dr. Steven Rood during a forum in Quezon City.

The poll, conducted April 12 to 15, also showed only 30 percent of Marawi residents living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps were convinced of the chief executive's concern for the religious group.

A copy of Rood's presentation concluded that Marawi respondents were "less convinced" that Duterte "has concern for Muslims." 

According to the data, results were gathered from 100 Lanao del Sur residents, 100 Maguindanao residents, 50 IDPs living in camps, and 50 Marawi residences.

The survey, which aimed to assess the government's response in the wake of the Marawi crisis, included the question: "In your opinion, is President Rody Duterte very concerned, somewhat concerned, undecided if concerned or not concerned, not too concerned, not at all concerned for the Muslims?"

The poll also asked respondents to compare their "present quality" of life to that of a year ago.

The response from both IDPs and Marawi residents who are not in evacuation camps indicated their situation had gotten "worse now."

The poll resulted in a  -42 score from Marawi folks in IDP camps and a -70 from residents in the city.

Good things, bad things cited

On the positive side, among the "good things done by the government," 68 percent of IDPs and 78 percent of city residents said they appreciated efforts that include relief operations, shelter, and financial aid for evacuees.

When asked about the "bad things done or shortcomings" by the government, the results were largely positive. However, the bombings, airstrikes, destruction of the city, and displacement were cited by the Marawi groups, along with "poor" rehabilitation and "unfulfilled" financial aid and promises.

Nevertheless, when respondents were asked if they were satisfied with the performance of government entities by level, the barangay government got an "Excellent" score.

In a separate item, the SWS said the rate of the respondents' satisfaction with the overall performance of the Department of Social Welfare and Development was "Very Good" to "Excellent," while that of Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) was "Moderate" to Excellent."

— BM, GMA News