Palace: SWS ‘nanlaban’ poll contains ‘leading, pointed questions’

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella FILE PHOTO / MALACANANG

Malacañang on Wednesday questioned the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which revealed that the majority of Filipinos were not buying the argument of the police that suspects killed in drug operations resisted arrest.

“It seems the 2nd Quarter Social Weather Stations (SWS) Survey contains leading and pointed questions that may have unduly influenced the answers of respondents,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

In its Second Quarter 2017 survey, majority of Filipinos or 54 percent agreed that “Marami sa mga pinatay ng mga pulis sa kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga ay hindi totoong nanlaban sa pulis (Many of those killed by the police in the anti-drug campaign did not really fight against the police).”

READ: Majority of Filipinos do not believe police’s ‘nanlaban’ claim

The survey showed that those who disagreed to the survey statement were at 20 percent, while those undecided were at 25 percent.

Abella listed the “leading and pointed questions” he was referring to.

• Marami sa mga pinatay ng mga pulis sa kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga ay hindi totoong nanlaban sa pulis.
• Marami sa mga pinatay ng mga pulis sa kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga ay hindi naman talaga mga nagtutulak ng droga o pusher (Many of those killed by the police in the campaign against illegal drugs are not really drug pushers).
• Marami ang nagsisinungaling at itinuturo ang kanilang mga personal na mga kaaway bilang drug user/pusher para mabigyang dahilan na patayin ang mga taong ito ng mga pulis o vigilante (Many are lying and identifying their personal enemies as drug users/pushers in order to give a reason to police or vigilantes to kill these people).

“We expect pollsters to exercise prudence and objectivity to arrive at a closer approximation of public sentiment,” Abella said. /je