PH majority wants gov’t. to be firm

Eight out of 10 Filipinos believe that the Duterte administration, which has shown partiality toward China, should take a firm stand and assert the Philippines’s sovereign rights over the disputed West Philippine Sea, results of a Pulse Asia survey showed.

The survey, conducted on Dec. 6 to 11 last year, showed that 84 percent of 1,200 respondents “agreed” that the Philippine government should assert its rights over the disputed islands on the ground of the final ruling of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Only three percent “disagreed” while 12 percent were ambivalent on the matter.

Majority of the respondents who agreed came from Manila (92 percent), followed by Mindanao (87 percent), Luzon (83 percent), and Visayas (77 percent).

In terms of socioeconomic classes, 85 percent in Class D believes it is necessary for the country to assrt its rights.

Even though the international tribunal invalidated China’s claim to most maritime features of the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine government sought to resolve the territorial row through diplomatic dialogue.

Malacañang has said the Philippines is committed to dealing with China “to find mutually acceptable arrangements.”

The respondents were asked if “the Philippine government should assert its rights on the West Philippine Sea as stipulated in the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”