Majority of Muslims nationwide favor approval of BOL — SWS

MANILA, Philippines – Majority of Muslims in the country are in favor of the approval of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in the plebiscite, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed Monday night.

The survey, which asked Muslim respondents whether they want the BOL approved in the plebiscite, found 79 percent of Muslims approved the BOL, with 67 percent definitely wanting its approval and 12 percent somewhat favoring the approval.

Meanwhile, 14 percent of Muslim respondents were undecided and four percent somewhat did not want the BOL approval and three percent definitely did not want it.

This gave the BOL’s passage a net approval score of +72, the SWS said.

If the BOL is approved through the plebiscite, it would create the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Supporters of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) cheer President Duterte who led a grand rally in Cotabato City on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, to drum up support for the law meant to give Muslims in Mindanao full authority to govern in the region. The plebiscite for BOL ratification has been set for Jan. 21 and Feb. 6.  INQUIRER MINDANAO / JEOFFREY MAITEM

Compared to other denominations, net approval of the BOL was +15 among Iglesia ni Cristo members, +10 among Catholics, and +9 other Christians.

The poll body also found that 78 percent of the Muslim respondents said they had knowledge of the BOL.

Of the percentage, 10 percent said they knew about the BOL extensively, 35 percent had partial but sufficient knowledge and 33 percent only had little knowledge about BOL.

Twenty-two percent said they had almost no knowledge about the BOL.

Compared to other faiths, 65 percent of Catholics said they had at least a little knowledge of the BOL, 61 percent among Iglesia ni Cristo members, and 61 percent among other Christians.

Those with at least partial but sufficient knowledge about the BOL were highest among Muslims at 45 percent, followed by Catholics at 22 percent, other Christians at 22 percent, and Iglesia ni Cristo members at 17 percent.

The survey also found that 76 percent of Muslims said that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was capable of governing the BARMM.

Of the 76 percent, 56 percent said the MILF was definitely capable of governing, while 21 percent said the MILF was somewhat capable.

Eight percent of Muslim respondents said the MILF was not capable of governing, with one percent saying MILF was somewhat not capable, and seven percent saying not definitely capable.

The remaining 16 percent were undecided about the matter.

This gave the MILF a net capability score of +68.

Among Catholics this net score was at +8, it was -2 among other Christians, and -6 among Iglesia ni Cristo members.

The survey also found that among adults surveyed in Mindanao, 41 percent were pro-BOL, while 31 percent opposed the measure, and 28 percent were undecided.

The net score on those in Mindanao who favored the BOL, rounded off, came to +9 – leaning towards approval of the BOL.

Compared to other areas, net approval score of BOL was 17 percent in the Visayas, 16 percent in Balance Luzon, and 13 percent in Metro Manila.

Across Mindanao, 30 percent of adults said the MILF was capable of governing the BARMM, while 38 percent said they were incapable. The remaining 32 percent were undecided.

The MILF had a net capability score of -9 across Mindanao.

The SWS conducted the survey from Dec. 16 to 19, 2018, using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults. The survey had sampling error margins of ±2.6 percent for national percentages. /cbb