Prevalence of drug trade, killings top reasons for drug war dissatisfaction — poll

MANILA, Philippines — A number of Filipinos are still wary of the prevalence of the drug trade and drug suspects amid the government's so-called war on drugs, according to the latest Social Weather Station survey.

The poll released Sunday found that 82% of Filipinos are satisfied with the drug war while 12% are dissatisfied and 6% are undecided.

The top reason for those who said they were dissatisfied with the drug was the continuing presence of the drug trade and suspects at 42%.

This is the same with those who are undecided, with 35% of them saying they cannot decide due to the prevalence of the drug trade.

Other reasons of those dissatisfied with the drug war are too many killings at 31%, abuse of power and bias in the operations at 12%, too many wrongful suspects/arrests/mistaken identity at 9% and drug suspects being killed at 2%.

The continuing prevalence of the drug trade is also the top reason for dissatisfaction in balance Luzon (34%), Visayas (65%) and Mindanao (39%).

Concern on too many killings is the top reason for dissatisfaction in Metro Manila (39%) and balance Luzon (34%).

The survey also found that President Rodrigo Duterte has a lower net satisfaction among those who said they were dissatisfied with the drug war.

Duterte only scored a "moderate" +29 (58% satisfied, 29% dissatisfied) net satisfaction rating among those dissatisfied with the crackdown against illegal drugs.

This is 47 points lower than the president's "excellent" +76 (84% satisfied, 8% dissatisfied) among those who said they were satisfied with the campaign.

The SWS poll was conducted from June 22 to 26 using face-to-face interviews among 1,200 adults nationwide. The results have sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, balance Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

"The Social Weather Survey items on public satisfaction with the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs are non-commissioned. These are included on SWS's own initiative and released as a public service," SWS said.

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