MANILA, Philippines — Nearly half (45%) of Filipinos believe it is dangerous to print or broadcast anything about the administration even if the information is true, according to a survey released by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on Thursday.
According to the SWS, the non-commissioned survey was conducted from September 12 to 16, 2021, using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents aged 18 years old and above, nationwide — 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
SWS asked respondents whether or not they agreed with the following statement: “It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth.”
In the survey, 45 percent agreed with the statement, 29 percent were undecided, and 19 percent disagreed.
According to the SWS, this gives a net agreement score of +26, classified as “moderate.”
“This is a six-point rise from the moderate +20 in June 2021,” SWS added.
Below are the SWS terminologies for the agreement, according to the poll body.
+50 and above, “very strong”;
+30 to +49, “strong”
+10 to +29, “moderate”
+9 to -9, “neutral”
-10 to -29, “poor”
-30 to -49, “weak”
-50 and below, “very weak.”
The net agreement with the statement was highest in the Visayas, which scored +31; followed by Balance Luzon, +28; Mindanao, +23; and lastly, Metro Manila at +17.
In comparison with the June 2021 survey, the net agreement rose from “moderate” to “strong” in the Visayas, from +22 to +31, said the SWS,
It then remained moderate in Balance Luzon, although up from +21 to +28, and in Mindanao, which rose from +12 to +23. It also stayed moderate in Metro Manila, although it went down from +28 to +17.
‘Free speech’
Meanwhile, the same survey also asked respondents whether they agreed with the statement: “I can say anything I want, openly and without fear, even if it is against President Duterte.”
Contrary to expectations, an opposite result was seen after 42 percent of the respondents agreed, 28 percent were undecided, and 22 percent disagreed.
“This gives a net agreement score of moderate +20. This is a slight two-point rise from the +18 in June 2021 and a continuing recovery from the neutral +5 in May 2021,” the SWS said.
The net agreement was highest in Metro Manila at +30; followed by Balance Luzon and the Visayas, both at +19; and Mindanao at +15.
Compared to the June 2021 results, the net agreement rose from moderate to “strong” in Metro Manila, from +22 to +30. As well as in Balance Luzon, although remaining “moderate” as it increased from +15 to +19.
It also stayed “moderate” in the Visayas, but decreased from +24 to +19, and remained the same +15 in Mindanao from June 2021 to September 2021.
The sampling error margins for the survey were ±3 percent for national percentages and ±6 percent for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, said the SWS.
INQUIRER.net is trying to get a comment from Malacañang.
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