More Filipinos believe printing, airing anything critical of gov’t is dangerous

More Filipino adults believe that printing or broadcasting “anything critical to the administration even if it is the truth” is dangerous, according to the results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted on Nov. 21 to Nov. 25 last year and posted on the pollster’s website on Friday.

SWS found 65 percent of 1,500 respondents nationwide agreeing with the statement: “It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration even if it is the truth.”

Sixteen percent disagreed and 18 percent were undecided, for a net agreement (percent agree minus percent disagree) of +49, which SWS classified as ‘’strong.”

This is a sharp increase from the “moderate” +21 that a similar SWS survey found in July 2020.

But while more respondents believed it was dangerous to publish anything critical of the administration, 65 percent of them agreed with the statement: “I can say anything I want, openly and without fear, even if it is against the administration.”

Sixteen percent were undecided and 19 percent disagreed with that statement.

This gives “personal freedom of speech” a strong net agreement score of +46, up from the strong +41 in June 2019, when SWS last conducted a poll on that matter.

SWS used face-to-face interviews and sampling margins of error of +/-2.5 percent for national percentages; +/- 4 percent for Luzon outside Metro Manila; and +/- 6 percent for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Per area, education level

Net agreement with the statement “It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration even if it is the truth” surged in all geographical areas and almost all educational levels. It leapt from +28 to +58 in Mindanao, +26 to +55 in the Visayas, +16 to +47 in Luzon outside Metro Manila, and +16 to +30 in Metro Manila.

In terms of educational levels, net danger in publishing materials critical of the administration rose from a “neutral” +9 in July last year to “very strong” +52 among college graduates, up by 43 points.

Among junior high school graduates, it rose from a moderate +21 to a strong +46, up by 25 points.

It rose by 28 points from a moderate +25 to a very strong +53 among elementary graduates, and stayed strong among nonelementary graduates, up by 5 points from +41 to +46.

Compared to June 2019, net personal freedom of speech rose in November last year from +47 to +59 in the Visayas and +32 to +55 in Mindanao. But it fell from +45 to +28 in Metro Manila and stayed at +42 in Luzon outside Metro Manila.

Net personal freedom of speech stayed strong across all educational levels from June 2019: It rose slightly from +45 to +47 among college graduates; remained at +46 among junior high school graduates; rose by 12 points from +36 to +48 among elementary graduates; and rose by 7 points from +35 to +42 among nonelementary graduates.

In the six times that SWS conducted a poll on personal freedom of speech during President Duterte’s administration, it ranged from a moderate +23 to strong +49. —INQUIRER RESEARCH