Palace welcomes public’s ‘unwavering’ support for drug war

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella. ALBERT ALCAIN/Presidential Photo (FILE)

The Malacañang on Saturday welcomed the findings of an American survey showing that an overwhelming majority of the Filipinos have positive views of President Rodrigo Duterte and his campaign against illegal drugs.

In its latest survey, American think tank, Pew Research Center, found that Duterte and his war on drugs campaign have widespread approval: 86 percent of Filipinos have favorable views of the President; 78 percent approved of his handling of the illegal drugs issue; and 62 percent believed that the government is making progress in its campaign against illegal drugs.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella welcomed the results, saying that the crackdown against narcotics would relentlessly continue.

“Our campaign against illegal drugs and criminals continues to get unwavering support from our people,” Abella said in a statement. “The campaign against illegal drugs, as the President said, would be relentless until the drug apparatus is dismantled, the last drug pusher is out of the streets, and the last drug trafficker behind bars,” he added.

Duterte’s bloody crackdown against illegal drugs has drawn condemnation from different sectors as deaths of suspected drug criminals increased. The controversial campaign was the subject of the anti-human rights violations rally in Luneta Park on Thursday, which had drawn about 13,000 protesters from different parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces. /idl